


The Spaniard and the Beast

by EsmerianDreamer



Series: Hetalian Fairytales [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Beast!Romano, Beauty and the Beast AU, Belle!Spain, Finally managed to get this story up and running again, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-01-04 12:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21197813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsmerianDreamer/pseuds/EsmerianDreamer
Summary: Exactly what it says in the tags.Based on the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast. Chapters will be named after the songs of the scenes. Lyrics used are the property of the musical. Let's not get huffy and just enjoy the story, shall we?Note: This is just copy-and-paste from my Word documents from chapter 1 to 10. Chapter 11 will arrive.. soon, I hope. Feel free to point out spelling mistakes and stuff.It's finally finished after like.. 2 years ;v; WOOOOO-Edit 16/2/2020: I do not consent to this work being used on any other hosting sites beside AO3. If you are seeing this work through any third-party hosting service, please report it to your app store right away. Thank you.





	1. Belle and No Matter What

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind. But then one winter’s night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single daisy in return for shelter from the bitter cold. 

Repulsed and disgusted by her appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him to not be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman’s ugliness melted away to reveal… a beautiful enchantress. 

The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late. For she had seen there was no love in his heart. As punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful curse on the castle and all who lived there. 

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast hid himself away into his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The daisy she had offered him was truly an enchanted daisy, which would bloom for many years. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he’d be doomed to remain a beast for all time. 

As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love…. A beast? 

* * *

Today is another nice day, Antonio concluded as he walked down the path to the village. The young Spanish man whistled a tune as he walked, watching the birds and the village wake up. This was the same every day. People would wake up at 7 on the dot, and replay all the things they did the day before. Day in, day out... 

Antonio could hear people tell each other “Good morning” from all directions. He could by now almost places cues as to what happened at what moment. There went the baker, with his cart of bread, rolls and pastries. The smell was, as always, very delicious. 

“Ah, good morning Antonio!” 

“Good morning señor.” Antonio replied with a smile, walking over to the plump man who was now passing the bread through the window of the bakery. “And where are you off to?” The baker asked. Antonio could feel his excitement bubbling up, and he reached into the basket hanging from his arm to show the baker a book. 

“The bookshop~ I just finished the most wonderful story! About a beanstalk, a-and an ogre, and…” Aaaaaand he already knew he had lost the baker’s attention. “Yes, yes, sounds like fun… Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!” The baker called into the bakery. Antonio shrugged, walking further into town. 

He could hear people whisper and gossip about him, which wasn’t new. Ever since Antonio and his older brother Gabriel moved to here from Spain after their parents died, people have always gossiped about them. 

Gabriel was an inventor, born in Portugal, who spend most of his time working on whatever contraption he had thought of. Antonio, born in Spain, often wandered through the village, his nose in a book. Both brothers were considered very handsome by the girls, but it was soon clear that they had no interest in wooing ladies or being extremely manly. So the villagers continued to gossip. 

After walking for a while, Antonio walked into the bookshop. The owner of the shop was a modest man by the name of Kiku. “Kon'nichiwa Antonio.” The man bowed lightly as Antonio walked in. “Hola Kiku~” Antonio cheerily replied. “I’ve come to return the book I borrowed~” 

“Finished already?” 

“Oh, I couldn’t put it down!~ Have you got anything new?” 

At this Kiku gave a small laugh. “Not since yesterday, gomen'nasai.” Antonio waved the apology away and smiled. “Oh, that’s alright… Then I’ll borrow...” He looked along the shelves. “...This one~” He pulled a book from the shelve. Kiku studied the book. “That one? But Antonio, you know that one already. You’ve read it twice!” 

Antonio just chuckled, hugging the book to his chest. “Oh, but it’s my favourite! Far off places...” He waved his hand to symbolize far off places. “...daring swordfights...” He acted like he was a knight who stabbed his sword. “...magic spells…” He waved his hand in a “magical” gesture. “…And a prince in disguise!” 

Kiku couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at Antonio’s enthusiasm. “Well, if you like it that much, you can keep it.” The shopkeeper mused, making Antonio look at him in surprise. “But Kiku…!” 

“No, I insist.” 

Antonio smiled, giving the man a quick hug. “Gracias Kiku!~” He mused, quickly letting go again. “Ah… H-Hai...” Kiku squeaked. He was never good with hugs. Antonio chuckled, leaving the store again. 

His nose was almost instantly in the book, and the Spaniard got lost in the story. He barely had to watch where he was going, for he already knew the town like the back of his hand. Eventually, Antonio sat down at a fountain, just reading through the story. 

Oh, this was his favourite part! The part where the girl met the prince for the first time. He had always loved this part, because the girl didn’t know the prince was a prince in that part yet. At least not until chapter 3. The girl and the prince were equals in that part of the story, friends. Antonio let out a sigh. He wished he had a friend. But that would probably never happen, everyone found him strange anyway... 

His thoughts were cut off by a loud gunshot echoing through the air, making him flinch lightly. Oh boy… He already knew who was nearby. Sadiq, the town’s strongest man, adored by many. And the most egocentric bastard ever. Antonio LOATHED him. 

He could see Sadiq’s loyal henchman, Tarkan, running towards a certain place with an open sack, trying to catch the bird Sadiq just shot down. He missed it by a long shot. Antonio rolled his eyes, focusing on his book again. He could faintly hear Sadiq and Tarkan talking. 

“…No beast alive stands a chance against you! And no guy or girl for that matter~” 

“It’s true Tarkan. And I’ve got my sights set on that one.” 

Antonio mentally sighed, knowing Sadiq had laid his eyes on some slutty girl again. Though Tarkan’s next words made him flinch. 

“The inventor’s brother?” 

Oh no. Nope, that was it. Sadiq had laid his eyes on him. No way José. Antonio carefully snuck away while he heard Sadiq talking about how the Spaniard was the most handsome man in town, after the Turk of course. Egocentric bastard… 

Luckily Sadiq was even more slowed down by some bimbos that practically worshipped the ground the Turk walked, so Antonio managed to sneak away even more. Antonio walked further once he was out of sight, focusing on his book again as he walked through the crowd of the market. 

Though when he nearly exited the village again, he ran out of luck. He could hear someone walking up to him, blocking his path. “Hello Antonio~” Antonio looked up from his book for a moment, mentally rolling his eyes at Sadiq. “Hola Sadiq. Excuse me…” He walked around him, trying to show he was uninterested. 

Sadiq didn’t get the hint. Antonio let out a slight gasp as his book was pulled out of his hands. “…Sadiq, may I have my book back please?” He asked, gritting his teeth. “How can you read this? There’s no pictures!” Sadiq said, looking the book over. Antonio sighed at how dumb the Turk sounded right now. 

“Well, some people use their imagination.” He mused, crossing his arms. Sadiq rolled his eyes. “Toni, you really must take your nose out of these books and pay attention to more important stuff~” 

“…Like you?” Antonio said, unamused. He snatched his book back. “Exactly!~” Sadiq purred, putting an arm around Antonio’s shoulder. “How about you and me go to the café so I can show you my trophies?~” He mused, beginning to lead him away. 

Antonio pulled himself away from the Turk. “How about we don’t. Lo siento Sadiq, but not now. I need to go back home and help Gabriel.” He said, walking away again. Suddenly he heard Tarkan call out. “That crazy idiot? He needs all the help he can get!~” 

That just made his blood boil. “Hey! Do NOT talk about my hermano that way!” Antonio hissed at the smaller man. Sadiq stopped laughing and hit Tarkan over the head. “Yeah, don’t talk about his herminno that way!” 

Antonio huffed. “Gabriel is not crazy. He’s a genius!” He felt a little bit of pride in his chest when he said that. Suddenly they heard an explosion coming from the house outside the village. Antonio’s house. The Spaniard flinched, and ran back home, ignoring the laughter of Sadiq and Tarkan. 

As he reached his house, Antonio saw the smoke rising from his brother’s workplace already. He hurried towards the small workplace, opening the door to get a faceful of the smoke. Coughing, Antonio waved the smoke away. “Gabriel?” 

The response was a long string of Portuguese curses and the panicked barking of their Spanish Waterdog Rizada. Rizada had been adopted by the two brothers a few years ago, just after their parents passed. She was currently leading Gabriel out the workplace, away from the smoke. 

The brown curly haired dog shook her fur once they were out of the shack. Gabriel was dusting himself off, a pissed expression on his tanned face. He and Antonio were very similar in appearance, only the elder had brown eyes, a clear stubble and longer hair that he held in a ponytail. 

Antonio worriedly put a hand on his older brother’s shoulder. “Are you alright Gaby?” He asked as he dusted him off a bit. “Oh, I’m fine.. But that stupid thing is going in the trash..!” Gabriel huffed, making the younger brother chuckle. “You always say that..” 

“But this time I mean it! I’ll never get this damn contraption to work!” 

Antonio’s face became serious, and he grabbed his brother’s shoulder. “Si, you will. And you’ll win first prize on the fair tomorrow.” He got a sulking huff in return. Antonio smiled and poked Gabriel’s ribs. “And… You’ll become a world famous inventor~” 

Gabriel looked at his younger brother, a faint smile on his face. “…You really think so?” Antonio nodded. “I always have Gaby.” He mused, patting his older brother’s shoulder. Gabriel smiled. 

“Well, we’d better get going then. This thing’s not going to fix itself. Now let me see, where did I put that dog-legged clencher..?” His words trailed off a bit as he looked for the tool like the klutzy genius he was. Antonio smiled as he saw the tool hanging from his brother’s belt. He grabbed it, holding it up for the other to see. 

“Gaby.” 

“Ah. Obrigado.” 

Gabriel took the tool and resumed working on his machine, which was actually some sort of car that you could use to very quickly harvest all sorts of fruit and vegetables. Antonio sat down nearby in case his brother needed help, and resumed reading his book. Rizada laid down at her youngest master’s feet. The older brother disappeared under his machine for a moment to fix something there. 

“So…tell me, did you have a good time in town today?” 

Antonio looked up from his book. “…I got a new book.” He could hear the other laugh from under the machine. “You do love those books, don’t you Toni?~” Antonio smiled faintly. “Well… they take me away to wonderful places where there’s adventure and mystery and romance and… happy endings.” 

A short silence passed. 

“...Gaby? If I ask you something, will you answer me honestly?” 

“Don’t I always?” 

He had a point there, but… Antonio sighed. “...Do you think I’m... odd?” Another small silence passed, and Gabriel appeared from under the machine, goggles over his eyes, his hair and face messy with grime and oil from the machine. He seriously looked like a mad scientist for a moment. “My little brother odd? Where would you get an idea like that?” 

Antonio smiled faintly, being used to his brother looking so weird. “Oh, I dunno… It’s just… people talk.” He shrugged. Gabriel sighed, shaking his head good-naturally as he stood up, taking off his goggles and cleaning his hands. 

“Ah Toni, they talk about me too.” He mused as he sat down next to his brother. “We’re not odd, our family has never been saner. Except maybe that aunt… Nevermind.” Both brothers shared a chuckle at the thought of aunt Isabel. Gabriel gave Antonio a pat on the back. “What I’m trying to say is… You’re fine just as you are. You’ve got imagination and spirit, don’t forget that.” 

Antonio let out a small sigh. “So… I should just accept I’m not like them?” He asked, looking at his brother. Gabriel sighed and smiled a little. “They are the common herd Toni. Just trust me, you’re unique and I hope you’ll forever be like you are. My judgement might be a bit… misty-eyed, but I’m very sure you’ll find someone who’ll love you just as you are.” 

At that, Antonio smiled. “….Gracias Gaby. I’m glad to have an hermano like you.” Gabriel just chuckled at that. “I’ll always be on your side Toni. No matter what.” He ruffled Antonio’s curls. Antonio chuckled and gave his brother a hug. “Gracias.” 

Gabriel just chuckled again. “Well, I got to see if this thing works now~” Antonio nodded at that, smiling. He hoped the invention worked. Gabriel went over to his machine, and pulled the lever. For a moment, the machine didn’t seem to work. But then.. It slowly rumbled to life. The two brothers stared at it in awe. 

“It’s working… It’s working!” Gabriel cried gleefully. Antonio smiled brightly and hugged the other. “I knew you could do it!” The two brothers laughed happily together, nearly dancing around the machine. Rizada, noticing her masters’ glee, jumped around their legs, barking and wagging her tail as if to celebrate along with them. 

“Oh Toni, once I sell this, we’ll be out of here! We’ll move out of this dull town and go to the places you read about in your books!~” Gabriel laughed, hugging his younger brother tightly. “I’ll go to the fair right now!~” 

Antonio smiled. Finally. There was sunshine after the rain. “Oh! I almost forgot.” He suddenly said, prying himself out of his brother’s hold. The youngest went to his room to retrieve a red and green scarf. It was obviously an amateur work, but.. 

“I.. I made this for you. For good luck.” 

Gabriel took the scarf, and smiled. He wrapped it around his own neck, nuzzling into the wool. “I love it Antonio. Now I’ll surely win.” He gave his little brother a hug. “I got to go now. Take care of yourself, okay?” 

“Of course Gaby. I’ll see you in a few days.” Antonio smiled, hugging back. The two said their goodbye’s, and then Gabriel left with the machine to the fair. Antonio watched his brother disappear in the distance, sighed, patted Rizada’s head and then went back inside to read his book. 


	2. The castle and Me

Gabriel blinked, staring at the map in his hands. Okay… Something had gone wrong. Did he miss a sign? Because he felt like he was completely lost. He looked around, trying to pinpoint his location. Soon enough, he gave a frustrated groan. He should’ve paid attention to the road… And it was cold. Gabriel tugged Antonio’s scarf closer around his neck to keep warm. 

“Uuuugh…” 

Suddenly Gabriel froze up as he heard something in the distance. The howling of wolves. “..Oh no..” Gabriel began running, leaving his invention behind. Even though he had worked months and months on it… His life was more important. The howling got closer, and Gabriel cursed as he tripped. He could see the animals closing in. 

“Stay back..!” He jumped up and grabbed a stick, trying to defend himself. The wolves jumped at him, snarling and growling. Gabriel smacked a few on the nose with the stick, and then ran off as quickly as he could. The scarf flew off his neck, but he couldn’t go back for it now. Suddenly he saw a castle. Taking his chance, he ran towards it, banging on the door. 

“Let me in, please! Open the door!” 

The door creaked open, and Gabriel quickly ran inside, closing the door behind him. He caught his breath, and looked at where he ended up. His jaw dropped at how MASSIVE the castle was. It looked old though, and in desperate need of cleaning. 

“H-Hello? Is anyone there?” He called out into the dark entrance hall. Faintly, he could hear a voice. Somewhere. 

“Well, now you’ve done it! I told you not to let him in!” Another voice replied softly to the first one. “We could not leave him for the wolves!” 

Gabriel blinked. “H-Hello? Anybody home?” 

“If we keep quiet, maybe he’ll go away.” 

“I-Is someone there?” Gabriel called. Was he going crazy, hearing voices? 

“Not a word, Francis, not one word!” 

Gabriel swallowed, and walked over to a small table that held a clock and a candelabra. “I-I don’t mean to intrude, but I’ve lost my way in the woods and I need a place to stay for the night.” He said, looking around for the owner of the voice. 

“Poor fellow. Oh, Arthur, have a heart. Monsieur, you are welcome here!~” 

Gabriel jumped. The voice had sounded very close. He picked up the lit candelabra, trying to find the person, or people, that he had heard. “I heard that! I know there’s someone here and I’ll thank you to step out where I can see you!” 

Suddenly something tapped him on the wrist. Gabriel looked at the candelabra, a bit confused. Suddenly he saw that the candelabra had a face. Like.. an actual face in the wax. The face began to smile, and the candelabra waved at the inventor. 

“’Allo!~” 

Gabriel let out a most unmanly shriek, dropping the candelabra and stumbling back, falling onto his butt. “And goodbye!” The clock jumped down from the table, and began pushing against Gabriel’s leg. The clock had a face as well. Gabriel stared in shock at the two _ living _items. 

“Wait…wait…wait! You’re a clock! A-A-And you’re talking!” 

The clock seemed to roll his eyes. “Astonishing, isn’t it? And quite inexplicable. Goodbye.” He resumed pushing against Gabriel’s leg. The candelabra, or Francis, seemed to put his “hands” in his sides with a huff. “Arthur! I’m surprised at you. Where are your manners…?” 

“We got to get him out of here before the master finds out!” Arthur replied, waving his handles/arms in irritation. Gabriel, now over his shock, curiously picked the clock up, studying him. “This is incredible! How is this accomplished?” He muttered, studying the clock from every angle. 

“Really sir…if you’d just…” Arthur protested, letting out an ‘Ow!’ as Gabriel poked him in the eye. “Stop that!” He protested, flailing a bit in the inventor’s grip. He began to giggle as Gabriel prodded his sides. “S-Stop..! Hee-hee.. S-Stop right now..!” 

Gabriel, very curious, opened Arthur’s pendulum door to inspect the inside. Arthur, feeling very offended and a bit violated, slammed his door shut. “Really sir! Do you mind?!” Gabriel blinked and scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I’m stumped. Maybe it’s some kid of a new-fangled scientific gadget..” 

“I, sir, am NOT a gadget!” Arthur huffed, very offended. Gabriel smiled sheepishly. “I beg your pardon. I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that I’ve never seen a ta..” He felt a sneeze coming up. “a tal…a talking…-A-AAAACHOOOO!” Gabriel sneezed, accidently on Arthur. 

“…Bless you..” Arthur forced out, using the arms of his ‘clock’ to wipe his face. Francis hopped over to Gabriel, a bit worried. “You’re chilled to the bone, Monsieur. Come. Warm yourself by the fire.” He began leading the man to the fireplace. Gabriel had put Arthur down, following the candelabra. Arthur followed them, protesting. 

“No! I forbid it! Francis, as head of this household, I demand that you stop right there!” Gabriel was seated in a big chair by the fireplace. Arthur gasped. “Ohhh, not the Master’s chair! I’m not seeing this. I’m not seeing this…” 

A feather duster walked, or rather twirled, into the room. From the gasp it gave at seeing Gabriel, it was clearly a female. “Oooh la la…what have we here?~” At seeing her, Francis began to preen himself a bit, looking into the reflection of Arthur’s door. Arthur smacked him over the head. 

The feather duster just giggled. “Do my eyes deceive me or is this a man?~ It’s been so long since I’ve seen a real man~” She purred as she swirled over to Gabriel, who had grown a bit flustered at her tone of voice. The feather duster just smirked flirtatiously. 

“Bonjour monsieur. Mind if I sit here?~” She purred as she flopped herself into Gabriel’s lap. Gabriel sputtered a bit. “Ah.. Uhm.. H-Hello.” Arthur stepped out again. 

“All right! This has gone far enough! I’m in charge here and…!” 

“Coming through! Out of the way Arthur.” 

A cart with a white-blue teapot and two cups, one red and yellow and the other pale-blue and white, on it came rolling towards the big chair. The teapot hopped over to Gabriel a bit. “How about a nice cup of tea, meneer? That’ll warm you up in no time.” The teapot had a Germanic sounding female voice, and there was a tiny scratch in the porcelain above one of her olive-green eyes. 

Gabriel blinked. “Ah.. Y-Yes, please.” He nodded. “No! No tea! He’ll be here all night…no tea!” Arthur protested. The teapot ignored him, and poured some tea into the yellow-red cup. “Here we are meneer.” 

Gabriel smiled, reaching over for the cup. “This is just what I need….AH!” He retracted his hand with a gasp as he saw the cup had eyes as well. The cup blinked his green eyes and giggled. “Oh non.. I think I scared him Sanne~” 

The other cup rolled her pale-blue eyes. “Good job Nicolaas.” She teased, her accent kind of German-like. The teapot gave the blue-white cup a stern glare. “Ida. Be nice.” Gabriel watched this happen, a bit surprised. He smiled though. “Oh, uhm.. H-Hi there. What are your names?” 

“Je m'appelle Nicolaas~ And this is my younger sister Ida, and my big sister Sanne!~ Though everyone calls her Miss Jansen, since she’s an adult~” The yellow-red cup beamed. The teapot gave a small sigh. “Alright now Nicolaas. Be quiet and let our guest enjoy his tea.” 

Gabriel just chuckled and gently picked the cup up. Suddenly, the feather duster came running with a blanket, draping it over Gabriel’s shoulders. “Care for a blanket, monsieur? I just loooove older men~” 

Francis seemed to have enough. “Jeanne, you are always trying to make me jealous. Well, it’s not going to work this time.” He crossed his candles with a huff. Jeanne pouted back, going over to him with her.. hands..? Yeah. With her hands in her sides. “Me?! What about you? With Simone?” 

“Jacques?” Francis huffed back. 

“Michelle?” 

“Pierre?” 

“Alice?” 

Francis grinned and let out a “Ohonhonhon~”-sound. “Aahh.. Alice!~” He chuckled. Jeanne let out an angry huff and stomped away. Arthur grabbed Francis by the shoulder. 

“Francis! Listen to me! We’ve got to get him out of here! Do you have any idea what the Master will do if he finds out we let a stranger in…” The candelabra just waved it off. “Oh calm yourself, Arthur~ Our fiery hot-headed Italian will never have to know~” He smiled. 

No sooner had he said that, or a roar echoed through the castle. Francis began to nervously laugh. “A-As I was saying, he is bound to find out sooner or later…” Nicolaas hopped out of Gabriel’s hands, hiding behind Sanne along with Ida. “S-Should we hide, Sanne..?” Ida squeaked. 

“Non… non… remain calm. There is absolutely no reason to panic.” Francis hushed. “Francis is right. There’s absolutely no reason to panic.” Arthur said, walking over to Gabriel and grabbing the blanket. “May I borrow this?” He yanked it off Gabriel’s shoulders and hid under it. 

Gabriel felt a shiver go down his spine as the door opened. The chair was standing with its back towards the door, so he could not see who entered. The fire in the fireplace flickered violently from the stream of cold air that flew in as the door opened. 

“..There is a stranger here.” A voice growled. It was a deep voice, though it sounded accented. Italian maybe. “Master, allow me to explain, the gentleman was set upon by wolves…” Francis began, but he was cut off by this.. Master. 

“Who the hell let him in?!” 

Everyone in the room shrunk back in fear. Arthur peaked out from underneath the blanket, quivering. “M…Master…May I take this opportunity to say, I was against it from the start!” 

“Who fucking _ dared _ to disobey me?! You have all betrayed me!! ” 

Gabriel heard the owner of the voice stomp over to the chair, standing behind it. The Portuguese man was frozen up in fear, unable to look back. 

“Who the fuck are you?” 

“G-Gabriel, s-sir.” 

“What the hell are you doing in my castle?!” 

“I-I lost my way in the woods..” 

“You’re not welcome here!” 

Gabriel swallowed. “D-Desculpa.. I…I’ll just be on my way.” He stuttered, standing up quickly and turning to look at the ‘Master’. He promptly screamed, stumbling back. 

Standing in front of him, was what Gabriel could only describe as a BEAST. It had a brown wolf-like face, legs like a lion, claws like an overgrown cat. Horns poked from its forehead, and a brown fox-like tail was fluffed up in anger behind the creature’s back. 

The Beast growled. “It’s fucking hideous, isn’t it?!” He barked. Gabriel sputtered in fright, not being able to form words. The Beast closed in on him. “You’re here to stare at the god damn beast, aren’t ya?!” 

“N-No, no! I meant no harm! I-I was merely looking for a place to stay..!” Gabriel cried, his whole body shaking in fear at the looming stature of the Beast. The Beast merely growled angrily. “I’ll give you a place to stay..!” And the last thing Gabriel saw before he blacked out was one of the Beast’s paws coming at his head. 

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the village, Antonio was working in the tomato garden for a bit. This year’s harvest wasn’t the best, but at least he could sell the tomatoes he had to the inn in the village. That would give them a little extra money for later. 

Antonio smiled. Tomorrow Gabriel would come back from the fair, and then their lives would be changed. Oh, he could already see it. Gabriel would step through the front door, laughing and showing Antonio a contract. They would celebrate with the wine they kept under a loose floorboard. Within the week, they would be gone from this dull town. 

As Antonio pondered this, he walked back to the house with the basket of tomatoes under his arm. Though when he saw Sadiq standing at the front door, the Spaniard quickly made an U-turn, trying to sneak away. But.. 

“Ah, hello Antonio!~” 

Mierda. 

Antonio turned around, faking a smile at the Turk. “Sadiq. What a… pleasant surprise.” He forced out. “Isn’t it?~ I’m just full of surprises! Here, for you!~” Sadiq nearly shoved a package in Antonio’s arms. Antonio let out a quiet ‘Ow’ at the shove, and looked down at the package in his hands. He unwrapped it, only to find.. 

“A miniature portrait. Of you. You shouldn’t have.” Antonio forced himself not to smack the Turk with the portrait, and just handed it back to Sadiq. Sadiq grinned. “Don’t mention it~” He walked over to the door and hung the portrait on a lose nail next to the door. 

“You know Antonio, there isn’t a person in town who wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. Today is the day all your dreams come true~” Sadiq purred as he walked over to Antonio again, took the basket, placed it down on the ground, and then wrapped an arm around Antonio’s waist. 

Antonio scrunched up his nose and pushed Sadiq away. “What could you possibly know about my dreams, Sadiq?” He sighed, irritated. Suddenly he was pulled back, his back against Sadiq’s chest. 

“Plenty~” 

Sadiq slung Antonio over his shoulder, parading over to a tree stump. He let Antonio down, but held him in his arms, tossing him back and forth a bit like a ragdoll. “Picture this: A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting over the fire, my little wife massaging my feet, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. Oh, we'll have six or seven!” 

Antonio swallowed back his nausea, looking at Sadiq. “..Dogs?” He kind of hoped for that. He already had Rizada after all. A plan struck him. 

Sadiq laughed. “No Antonio!~ Strapping boys, like me!” He picked Antonio up again, who sarcastically muttered an “Imagine that..” 

Sadiq walked over to the big tree, placed Antonio down, took his hand and going on one knee. “So Antonio, what will it be? Is it yes, or is it.. Ooooh yes~” 

Antonio stared at Sadiq, honestly disgusted. So he thought that just by basically saying Antonio would be a housewife for the rest of his life, that the Spaniard would marry him? Ah. No. But he had to play along for a bit. 

“I.. uh.. I just don’t deserve you!~” Antonio faked a nervous laugh. Sadiq chuckled and let go of Antonio. “Ah, who does?~” He mused, closing his eyes. 

While Sadiq was distracted by himself, Antonio quickly made a run for the front door, and opened it. “But thanks for asking!” The Spaniard called to Sadiq, and then he called into the house. “Rizza!” 

Not a second later, Rizada ran out of the house, running at Sadiq, barking and growling. Sadiq quickly ran off, not wanting to have a Spanish Waterdog biting into his behind or another important part. 

Antonio chuckled softly as he saw the brown dog chase Sadiq off of the property. He looked at the portrait Sadiq had left, pulled it off the nail, and went inside to throw it into the fireplace. 

When he walked out again, Rizada was just coming back, a piece of trouser in her teeth. Antonio chuckled, sitting down in the grass and taking the piece of fabric out of the dog’s teeth. “Good girl.” He praised, petting her. 

“..Can you imagine? He asked me to marry him!” Antonio muttered, Rizada growling in agreement. “Me? I don’t see me being the partner of that boorish.. brainless.. Ugh.” He laid down in the grass with a huff, Rizada nuzzling up with him. 

“…You know Rizada..? I just wish I could run away from here.. Go on adventures. Be free. Maybe find someone. Nobody like _ him _though. I just wish.. Someone would be there for me. Understanding me. Not loving me for my appearance, but for.. Me.” 

Rizada gave him a lick on the cheek, making Antonio chuckle. “Gracias Rizza, but I mean like a person. Someone besides Gaby.” He mused as he pet her. They laid there for a while. Suddenly Antonio heard someone approaching. 

It was Tarkan. “Hi Antonio. Have you seen Sadiq?” Antonio rolled his eyes at that. “You just missed him.” Suddenly he noticed the familiar scarf around Tarkan’s neck. “..Hold on.. Where did you get that scarf?” Antonio asked as he stood and walked over to the smaller man. 

“Oh this? In the woods~ Nice colours huh?” Tarkan smiled. Antonio grabbed one end of the scarf. “This scarf belongs to Gabriel!” He said angrily. Tarkan huffed. “Oh well, Finders keepers.” He tried to walk away, but Antonio yanked him back with the end of the scarf, choking him a bit. 

“Tarkan, I want to you to think hard and tell me exactly where you found that.” 

“No!” 

Antonio’s expression darkened, making Tarkan gulp and let out a squeak. “S-Somewhere in the woods…” Antonio pulled the scarf tighter, growling. Rizada was growling besides her master as well. 

“N-Near the crossroads!” Tarkan quickly said. Antonio let him go, suddenly looking very afraid. “Then he’s still out there.. Tarkan, you have to take me back there!” 

“N-No! Not the woods again!” Tarkan protested. “Don’t you see? Something must have happened. You have to take me back!” Antonio insisted. “N-Not on your life!” Tarkan said, running off, leaving a frustrated and scared Antonio behind. 

“Then… Then I’ll find him myself!” 

Antonio ran into his house, grabbing a cloak. He made Rizada sit. “You stay here Rizza. Wait for me and Gaby, okay chica?” Rizada gave a bark in agreement. Antonio smiled, gave her a last pat on the head and then ran off into the woods, in search for Gabriel. 


	3. In the castle / Home

The castle was as quiet as it was before Gabriel arrived. Though Arthur and Francis were arguing again, which wasn’t a big surprise. “Couldn’t keep quiet, could we? Just had to invite him to stay, didn’t we? Serve him tea, sit in the Master’s chair…” Francis rolled his eyes at Arthur’s words. “I was trying to be hospitable!” 

“Rubbish!” 

“Ah, Arthur, can you blame me for trying to maintain what’s left of our humanity? I mean… Look at us. Look at you!” Francis said, gesturing at Arthur. Arthur gave a scoff. “What about me, frog?” He grumbled. Francis snorted. “You always were insufferable. But every day, you become just a little more inflexible…a little more tightly wound…a little more ticked off!” 

“..Please spare me the stupid puns.” Arthur huffed, crossing his arms. Francis sighed softly. “At least, we are not as far gone as some of the others. You saw what happened to Roderich.” 

“Heh. He was always being such a bloody snob about his music. So what he became is perfect.” 

“A grand piano.” 

“Porcelain keys, that sort of thing.” 

Francis couldn’t help but chuckle, which soon turned into a sad frown. “..But poor Matthew..” 

Arthur blinked at that. “Who?” 

“Matthew. Quiet boy. Didn’t really stand out. Like he was clear as..” 

“..Glass?” 

“A whole window.” 

Arthur blinked. “Mark’s a window?” 

Francis rolled his eyes a bit. “Oui, **_Matthew _**is a window. He’s in the hall to the North Wing.” 

“Oh my..” 

“Oh, and remember Peter? The house boy?” 

Arthur snorted. “That mealy-mouthed little bootlicker! I’ve never liked him. He was always groveling at the Master’s feet.” 

“He’s a doormat.” 

“Perfect.” 

The two shared a chuckle. But then Francis sighed a bit. “It’s happening faster with some of the others, but we are not far behind. Slowly but surely, as every day passes, we will all gradually become…things.” Arthur gave a sigh as well, but then frowned. 

“But why did we have to get dragged into this whole spell business? It’s not like we threw that poor old beggar woman out on her ear.” 

“No, but are we not responsible too, mon ami? For helping to make him the way he is?” Francis inquired. “I… I suppose so.” Arthur admitted. Francis looked down at his ‘hands’. 

“All I know is…I will eventually melt away to nothing. I-I only hope there’s something left of me if the Master ever breaks the spell..” 

He teared up a bit. Arthur sighed and gave the other a soft pat on the back in this moment of brief friendship. “Hold on old man. We’ve got to hold on.” 

The two shared a small platonic hug. Suddenly a voice rang through the castle. One that made them freeze up in shock. 

“Hola? Is anybody here? H-Hello..?” 

Francis and Arthur looked back to see Antonio walking through the hallway, clearly searching for something. Or rather someone. Francis excitingly shook Arthur. “It’s a boy!” He whisper-yelled. “Yes, I can see it’s a boy.” Arthur hissed back. Suddenly they both realized it. 

“It’s a boy!!” They both whisper-yelled, rushing after Antonio. “..Wait. Why is a boy so exciting..?” Arthur suddenly asked Francis. “The Master once said before the curse that he’s more into men than women~” Francis quickly explained, before running after Antonio again. 

“Monsieur!~” 

“Francis, please let me do the talking-“ Arthur tried to say, but he was ignored by the candelabra. 

”Yoohoo..!~” 

“As head of the household, I should do most of the talking!” 

“Chér!~” 

“A word! Just one word! That’s all I’m asking for!” 

* * *

“Sanne, you’re not gonna believe what we saw…!” Nicolaas called as he and Ida hopped over to the teapot, who was cleaning the stove a bit. “Not in a million years…!” Ida piped in. “Not in a trillion million thousand years!” They said simultaneously. 

“Really now _ lieverds _?” Sanne chuckled a bit, using her spout and a small rag to scrub away a spot. “Yes, really…this is the greatest thing…!” Ida said. “It’s the thing that everybody’s been waiting for since…since…since…” Nicolaas sputtered. “..Since we don’t know when!” Ida finished her brother’s sentence. 

“Alright, what is it?” Sanne said, looking at her younger siblings. The two cups bounced in excitement. “There’s a boy in the castle!~” They said happily. The teapot gave a sigh at that. “Ah, wouldn’t that be great.” She resumed scrubbing. 

“But there is! We saw him!” 

Sanne turned to the two cups, giving them a stern look. “Now, I’ll not have you two making up wild stories and getting everyone’s hopes up for no reason.” She said curtly. Jeanne suddenly rushed into the kitchen. “Miss Jansen, have you heard? There’s a boy in the castle!” 

“See? We told you!” Nicolaas mused as Sanne blinked in surprise. “..And he’s really handsome too!~” Ida giggled. Jeanne made a face. “Well.. I don’t know about that..” 

* * *

“This is the one! The one we have been waiting for! He has come to break the spell!~” Francis laughed happily. “Wait a minute…wait a minute…let’s not be hasty!” Arthur whisper-yelled. Francis just laughed again, grabbing Arthur by the shoulders. 

“Isn’t it wonderful? After all these years! Oh happy, happy day!” Francis laughed, kissing Arthur’s cheeks. Arthur tried to push him away, flailing. “S-Stop that, you frog..!” Francis merely laughed, letting go. 

“We should tell the others, non?~” He purred, before dashing off, leaving Arthur just standing there confused, if not a bit flustered. 

“Yes. I-I mean, no! I mean…wait a minute! Wait a minute!” He ran after Francis. 

* * *

Antonio had wandered down to the basement, shivering and shaking. He scrunched up his nose at the smell of decay and the rotting of passed souls. A few rats shot past him, making him jump a little. Wait.. Was that something porcelain he saw..? Suddenly Antonio heard someone cough in one of the cells. 

“Hello? Is anyone there? Please, I’m looking for my brother.” Antonio called, slowly walking over to the cell. “..A-Antonio..? Is that you..?” Gabriel croaked. Antonio’s eyes widened. “Gaby!” He ran over to the cell, dropping to his knees and grabbing Gabriel’s hands through the bars. 

Gabriel looked very sickly, his tanned face now very pale. “H-How did you find me Toni..?” He coughed. Antonio teared up a bit, gently feeling his brother’s forehead. Gabriel clearly had a fever, yet his hands were like ice. “…Gaby, you’re burning up..! We have to get you out of here!” 

“Toni, y-you must leave this place..!” 

“Who has done this to you?!” Antonio demanded, tears streaming down his face. He was so focused on Gabriel that he didn’t notice the shadowy form walking in. “T-There’s no time to explain! You have to go NOW Toni!” Gabriel pleaded. 

“I’m not leaving you!” Antonio insisted. He suddenly felt the hairs on his neck stand up, and he heard a soft growl from the shadows, along with animal-like panting. “..Who’s there?” Antonio said, standing up and making sure his tears had stopped and had been wiped away. He didn’t want to show fear. “I know someone’s there. Who are you?” 

“The master of this castle.” A voice growled back, a deep Italian accent evident in the words. Antonio shivered, but stood his ground, trying not to stutter. “Then.. _ you’re _ the one who’s responsible for this! Release my brother at once!” 

“I am the master of the castle! I do not take any god damn orders from anyone. Alfred! Throw him out!” The voice snapped. Something that Antonio could only presume was a guard completely in armour grabbed him and began to drag him to the door. 

Antonio struggled. “Wait! Wait!! F-Forgive me..” The guard stopped. Antonio hurriedly bowed his head. “Please, let him out.. Can’t you see he’s not well?” He pleaded with the.. ‘Master’. 

“Then he should not have trespassed here!” 

“But he could die!” Antonio nearly cried, getting out of the guard’s grasp. “He came into my home uninvited and now he’ll suffer the consequences.” The Master growled. “Por favor.. I-I’ll do anything..” Antonio pleaded. 

“There’s nothing you can do!” 

Antonio was grabbed again. “Wait, please!!” He pleaded, trying to get loose again. “I said there’s nothing you can do!” The Master growled angrily. Antonio wanted to yell in frustration. And suddenly, before he could stop himself, he pulled himself loose and yelled. 

“T-TAKE ME INSTEAD..!” 

“NO..!” Gabriel cried out in shock, staring wide-eyed at his brother. The Master seemed taken aback. “..What did you say..?” Antonio was silent for a few seconds, agreeing with himself on the desperate plea he had cried out. “Take.. Take me instead of him.” 

“Toni, no! You don’t know what you’re doing..!” 

Antonio reluctantly ignored his brother and stared into the shadows where he could see the faint outline of the Master. He could hear him ponder Antonio’s words. “..You’d do that? You’d take his place?” 

“..If I do.. You’d let him go?” 

“Sì. But.. You’ll have to promise to stay here. Forever.” 

“NO!” Gabriel cried out again, trying to reach out for his brother. Antonio swallowed. “F-Forever..?” He asked. “Forever! Or he dies in the dungeon!” The Master snapped back. Antonio couldn’t help but tear up again. “That’s not fair..! Wait.. Come into the light.” 

“Why?” 

“B-Because I want to at least see who or what would do such a horrible thing to someone! I won’t make my choice until I’ve seen your face.” 

There was a silence. And then... The Master slowly stepped into the light. Antonio’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but take a small step back. The Master bore his fangs a bit in anger. “Well?! Make your choice.” 

Antonio swallowed, straightening his back. He stepped forward. “…You have my word.” He eventually forced out. “NO!!!” Gabriel yelled. 

“Done.” The Master growled, grabbing Antonio by the arm and throwing him in one of the cells. Gabriel was pulled out of his cage by the knight, and pulled to the door. “Take him to the crossroads!” The Master ordered. 

“W-WAIT, NOT YET! GABRIEL!” Antonio yelled, trying to reach out to his brother, to at least say goodbye. Gabriel reached out as well, but their fingers just didn’t touch. Antonio watched his brother being taken away, and his knees buckled under him. He fell onto his knees, completely in shock. 

The Master growled a bit, beginning to leave, until Francis stopped him. “M-Master.. Master, please.. Since the boy is going to be with us for quite some time…you might want to offer him a more comfortable room…?” 

“..You didn’t even let me say goodbye..” Antonio choked out. The Master turned to look at Antonio. “..What?” Antonio looked at him angrily, tears streaming down his face. “I’ll never see him again.. And I didn’t even get to say good-bye!” 

The Master was silent for a second, clearly confused. “..I’ll uhm.. Show you to your room.” He muttered as he opened the cage. Antonio looked at him, confused. “..My room..? But I.. I thought..” 

“Do you want to stay in that dungeon then..?!” 

“N-No.” Antonio quickly said, standing to his feet. “Then follow.” The Master reached for his hand, but Antonio recoiled from him. There was a flash of hurt in those hazel eyes, but then the Master set his jaw, irritated. “You follow me.” 

Antonio followed the other through the castle, tugging his cloak closer around himself. They were both quiet for a while. “…What is your name?” Antonio looked up as the other asked that question. “..Antonio.” He replied quietly. 

“..I see. Well, my name is Lovino. Not Lovi, Lovino. Do not call me Lovi, ever. Understood?” Antonio quickly nodded, looking at the ground as they walked. Lovino soon broke the silence again. “This is your home now. You’re free to go anywhere you like… except the West Wing.” 

Antonio looked up, his interest peaked now. “..Why? What’s in the West Wing-?” He quickly fell silent as Lovino turned around, staring him down with anger in his hazel eyes. “IT’S FORBIDDEN! You are never to set foot in there. Do you understand?” When he didn’t get an answer right away, Lovino grabbed Antonio’s arm, tightly. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” 

“S-Sí!” Antonio quickly said, failing to hide his fear that time. Lovino huffed, letting Antonio go again. He led him to a bedroom, opening the door and impatiently motioning Antonio in. The Spaniard walked inside, looking around. 

It was a very fancy room, he had to admit. A big bed, a big wardrobe, a door that seemed to lead to a personal bathroom and another that lead to a small balcony. He could fit the whole of Gabriel’s work shed in this room if he wanted. The thought of that made his heart clench in sadness. But he kept the tears in. 

“This is your room. I hope you’ll be comfortable here. If you need anything, my servants will attend you.” Lovino said, clearly forcing a friendly voice. Antonio didn’t look at him. Lovino huffed. “And, one more thing. You will join me for dinner.” Antonio looked at him at that, clearly wanting to protest. But Lovino beat him to it. “THAT’S NOT A REQUEST!” He roared, slamming the door shut. 

Antonio jumped at the loud sound, hearing Lovino stomp down the hall. He felt himself begin to shake, looking around the room. His vision blurred as tears began to well up. He ran over to the bed, and let himself fall on top of it, hugging a pillow as he began to cry again. He had never cried as hard as he did now. Maybe when his parents passed away, but.. Antonio felt like his heart had been pulled out and stomped on. 

So this would be his home now? He’d have to be happy here? Well.. He never knew a home could be dark and cold. This room was beautiful, but it just felt cold and unwelcome. His old home wasn’t as nicely decorated, but at least it was.. home. Antonio realized he’d never sit in the grass with Rizada again, he’d never have silly little food fights with Gabriel again, he’d never come home to his family again. 

‘Home is where the heart is.’ That’s what his mother used to say, before she and his father passed away. Antonio sniffled. Never had words been so very true. His heart was far away from this place, just like home. 

Oh, what would he give to turn back time. And to think he complained about that stupid old town. But.. Now that he thought about it.. His life had changed once, he could handle another change. Maybe he could shape himself to this, for the time being. He’d bend for as long as he needed, until he could escape. And with that thought, Antonio fell asleep. 


	4. Home reprise / Sadiq

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyrics used in this chapter are owned by Disney. Please don't get huffy.

Sanne sighed softly as she filled herself with hot water and a tea bag. She shook herself a bit, letting the tea set. The teapot hopped over to the cart with Nicolaas and Ida, along with the milk and sugar set. She sighed again, the two cups looking at her when she made that sound. They both knew why their older sister was sighing. 

When Gabriel had been thrown in the dungeon, Sanne had secretly brought the poor man some warm tea and some last bits of soup when the Master wasn’t looking. Without it, Gabriel would’ve been a lot sicker. Sanne and Gabriel had talked the whole night, and the two cups knew their sister had become friends with the man over the course of a few hours. 

But now… He was gone. His brother had taken his place. The three siblings had seen Gabriel being taken away, kicking and screaming, pleading that the Master would not take his brother. But they couldn’t do anything. Sanne could’ve done nothing to save her new friend. But she wasn’t going to be bitter over this loss. Their new guest needed comfort now. 

The cart went to the bedroom, and Sanne took a moment to compose herself before giving a few knocks on the door. It took a bit, but soon she heard a soft “Who is it?” from inside the bedroom. “Miss Jansen _ lieverd _ _ . _” The teapot replied. The door soon opened, revealing Gabriel’s younger brother standing there. 

The poor man looked a lot like his older brother, the teapot realized. And maybe 4 years younger than herself, so around 25. He had clearly cried. Sanne gave a small smile to put him at ease as the cart rolled into the room. “I thought you might want some tea. That might help you feel a bit better.” 

Antonio stumbled back in surprise a bit. “B-But… But y-you’re.. You’re..” He stuttered, staring wide-eyed at the living objects. “Miss Jansen.” Sanne replied curtly, smiling still as she hopped over to Ida to pour some tea into her. Antonio stumbled back more, bumping against the wardrobe. 

“Oof! Careful broski~” The wardrobe chuckled. Antonio swirled around, staring at the wardrobe in surprise. “W-Who are you..?” 

“I’m Feliks!~ Like, you must’ve heard of me once. I was, like, totally famous~” 

Antonio swallowed and gave a small apologetic smile to the wardrobe. “Lo siento.. I haven’t.” At this the wardrobe gave a gasp. “You see..?! They’ve totally forgotten all about me! OMG, one can be and I quote, “The toast of Europe. The brightest star ever to grace the stage.”, but fall under one little spell and-“ 

“_ Stil _ _ ! (Be quiet!) _” Sanne hissed. “Wait.. T-This is impossible..!” Antonio said. “I know it is…but here we are! Well now, what shall we dress you in for dinner?~” Feliks grinned. He looked Antonio over, looking at the brown pants, faded yellow shirt and red vest the other was wearing. 

“This is… nice. But how would you like to borrow one of my suits?~ You’d look totally fabulous!~ Let’s see what I’ve got in my drawers…” Feliks opened up his drawers, looking through them. He soon pulled out a red suit. 

“Ah, here we are~ I wore this the night I performed at the Royal Opera. The King himself was there, and he totally loved my performance!~ Of course.. I wouldn’t have a prayer of fitting into it now…” He dramatically held out the suit to Antonio. “Take it!” 

Antonio looked at the suit and politely pushed the suit back to Feliks. “That’s very kind of you. But I’m not going to dinner.” Feliks just let out a laugh. “Don’t be silly!~ Like, of course, you are. You heard what the Master said~” 

“He may be your master, but he’s not mine!” Antonio snapped. There was a beat of silence. “..Lo siento.. This.. This is all just happening so fast..” Antonio soon said, sitting down on the bed. Sanne and Feliks looked at eachother, both feeling sorry for Antonio. 

Sanne hopped over to Antonio with Ida. “There, there now.. Have some tea, that’ll help you calm down.” The teapot soothed. Antonio nodded softly, gently picking Ida up. He just wanted to take a sip, when Ida had an idea to cheer him up. 

“Hey!~ Look what I can do!~” When Antonio looked at her, Ida breathed in and blew bubbles into the tea. “Ida!” Sanne scolded. Antonio began to chuckle though. “That’s a very good trick.” He smiled, though the smile soon faded a bit. 

“..It was a very brave thing you did, you know.” Sanne said. “Yeah, we all think so.” Feliks added. Antonio sniffled a bit. “I.. I’m just going to miss Gabriel so much.. He was the only one I still had..” 

“Hey.. _ Koppie _ _ op. _I know things may seem bad right now, but we’ll be here for you to help you through this.” Sanne soothed. “Yeah! We’ll be your friends!” Ida smiled. “Hm-hm!~” Nicolaas agreed. “You may like it here one day~” Feliks beamed. Antonio gave a small chuckle. “Gracias..” 

“_ Graag _ _ gedaan _ _ . _ Oh! Listen to me babbling while there are chores to be done in the kitchen.” Sanne said. “Come along Ida.” Ida nodded at her sister, giving Antonio one last smile before hopping onto the cart. “ _ Tschüss _ _!~_” 

Antonio waved at the tea-set as they left, and then laid down on the bed again with a sigh. Maybe they were right. But he kept to his own promise. He’d bend. Not break. 

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the village, Sadiq was moping in the tavern. People were dancing and drinking around him, but he was just angry about being rejected by Antonio. What did he do wrong? If he had done what he did for Antonio to someone else, they would’ve thrown themselves at his feet, crying happily that they’d marry him. 

But Antonio didn’t. He had sent that blasted dog after him. The stupid runt had nearly bit his leg off when she chased him. Sadiq huffed and slammed his mug down on the bar. “Who does he think he is?! That boy has tangled with the wrong man!” 

“Darn right!” Tarkan agreed, slamming his mug down as well, though accidentally on his hand. The younger man winced in pain. Sadiq was too angry to notice. “No one says "no" to Sadiq! Dismissed! Rejected! Publicly humiliated! Why, it's more than I can bear!” 

“More beer?” Tarkan asked through gritted teeth as he cradled his hand. “What for? Nothing helps. I'm disgraced.” Sadiq huffed solemnly. “Who? You? Never! Sadiq, you’ve got to pull yourself together!” Tarkan said. And to try to cheer him up, Tarkan began to sing. 

((_ This _ is Tarkan singing. _ This _ is cronies singing. ** This ** is Sadiq singing. ** _ This _ ** ** ** is the silly girls/bimbos singing. ** _ This _ **is everyone singing.)) 

_ Gosh it _ _ disturbs me to see you, Sadiq _

_ Looking so down in the dumps _

_ Ev'ry _ _ guy here'd love to be you, _ _ Sadiq _

_ Even when taking your lumps _

_ There's no man in town as admired as you _

_ You're _ _ ev'ryone's _ _ favorite _ _ guy _

_ Ev'ryone's _ _ awed and inspired by you _

_ And it's not very hard to see why _

_ No one's slick as _ _ Sadiq _ _ , no one's quick as _ _ Sadiq _

_ No one's neck's as incredibly thick as _ _ Sadiq _ _ 's _

_ For there's no man in town half as manly _

_ Perfect, a pure paragon! _

_ You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley _

_ And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on _

The rest of the tavern soon joined in on trying to cheer their idol up. 

_ No one's been like _ _ Sadiq _

_ A king pin like Sadiq _

_ No one's got a swell cleft in his chin like _ _ Sadiq _

Sadiq, now a little bit more cheered up, grinned. 

** As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating! **

_ My, what a guy, that _ _ Sadiq _ _ ! _

_ Give five "hurrahs!" _

_ Give twelve "hip-hips!" _

_ Sadiq _ _ is the best _

_ And the rest is all drips _

_ No one fights like _ _ Sadiq _

_ Douses lights like _ _ Sadiq _

_ In a wrestling match nobody bites like _ _ Sadiq _ _ ! _

**_For there's no one as burly and brawny_**   


** As you see I've got biceps to spare **

_ Not a bit of _ _ him's _ _ scraggly or scrawny _

**That's right!**   
**And ****ev'ry**** last inch of ****me's**** covered with hair**   
  
_No one__ hits like Sadiq_   
_Matches wits like __Sadiq_   
  
_In a spitting match nobody spits like __Sadiq_   
  
**I'm esp****ecially good at expectorating! **   
  
**_Ten points for _****_Sadiq!_**   
  
**When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs**   
**Ev'ry**** morning to help me get large**   
**And now that I'm grown I eat five dozen eggs**   
**So I'm roughly the size of a barge!**   
  
Sadiq went to pose, showing off his muscles while everyone oogled over him. 

  
_Oh, __ahhh__, wow!_   
_My, what a guy, that __Sadiq__!_   
  
There was a little break where everyone danced, clinking glasses and laughing together.   
  
_No one shoots like __Sadiq_   
_Kills those beasts like __Sadiq_

_Then goes tromping around wearing boots like __Sadiq_   
  
**I use antlers in all of my decorating!**   
  
_My what a guy!_   
  
_What a guy!_   
  
**_Sadiq!_**   


The song ended, Sadiq now very much cheered up. He was laughing again, letting the girls oogle over him. Suddenly the tavern door slammed open. “HELP! YOU GOT TO HELP ME!” Gabriel ran in, frantically looking around. 

“..Gabriel?” Sadiq asked, confused. Gabriel was running from person to person, blabbering in a panicked voice as he tried to get his message across. “Please, I need your help! He’s got him! He’s got him locked in a dungeon…!” 

“Who?” One of the men asked. “Antonio… He has Antonio! We must go at once… not a minute to lose!” Gabriel blabbered, still scared from his earlier experience. But to the people here, he looked like he lost his mind. 

Sadiq walked over to Gabriel, grabbing his shoulder. “Whoa. Slow down, Gabriel. Who’s got Antonio locked in a dungeon?” He asked, secretly happy. Now he could go and rescue Antonio, and then he’d HAVE to marry him! Gabriel stared at him with wide eyes. 

“A Beast! A horrible monstrous beast!” 

For a few seconds, the tavern was completely silent. And then everyone burst into laughter, especially Sadiq. Gabriel had lost his mind, he was sure of that now. One of the men in the tavern leaned over Gabriel. 

“Is it a big beast?~” 

“Huge!” Gabriel responded, thinking they’d help him. 

“With spooky yellow eyes?” Another man called. 

“Yes!” 

“…with a long ugly snout?” 

“Hideously ugly..!” 

“…and sharp cruel fangs?” Tarkan called, grinning. 

“Yes! Yes, all of it! Will you help me? Will you help me, please?” Gabriel begged, looking at everyone. Sadiq grinned. “All right, Gabriel. We’ll help you out.” He jerked his head a bit towards his cronies, who understood the message. 

Gabriel was just relieved. “Oh thank you.. Thank you..” Suddenly he was picked up, and thrown out the door. The air knocked out of him, he laid there for a bit, trying to catch his breath. The door slammed behind him. “…Fine! I’ll save him myself!” He eventually called, standing up and wobbling home. 

In the tavern, the men were chuckling. “Crazy ol’ Gabriel.” One man mused. “He’s always good for a laugh!” Another said. Sadiq chuckled along. “Crazy ol’ Gabriel..” And suddenly, it hit him. A plan to finally get Antonio to marry him. “..Crazy ol’ Gabriel.” Sadiq grinned. “Tarkan, I’ve been thinking..” 

“A dangerous pastime..” 

“Yeah, I know. But that nutjob is Antonio’s brother. And you know his sanity isn’t the best, from what we just saw. So.. I’ve been thinking. You know I want to marry Antonio.. And I’ve made a plan~” 


	5. How long must this go on? / Be our guest!

The castle was in a bit of disarray since Antonio arrived in the castle. Suddenly the master had ordered that a big meal had to be cooked, instead of the normal dishes that they had cooked for more than 9 years. Suddenly lots of work had to be done. Not that the servants minded. They could finally DO SOMETHING again. 

Arthur had gathered Francis and Sanne in the dining room. Arthur put his handles in his sides. “Is dinner ready, Miss Jansen?” Sanne gave a nod. “Just about. I haven’t the slightest idea what he likes to eat, so I’ve cooked up almost everything in the kitchen.” 

“Ah, splendid, splendid.” Arthur nodded, turning around to walk away. But this revealed the new winding handle on his back. Francis and Sanne couldn’t help but gasp a bit. Arthur turned around again. “Yes, well? Don’t just stand there gaping, get back to work!” 

“..You tell him.” Francis whispered to the teapot. “Tell me what?” Arthur grumbled. Sanne sighed. “You’ve got something on your back.” She said bluntly. “What on earth are you talking about?” Arthur asked. 

The teapot gave another sigh, bringing Arthur to a mirror in the room. Arthur gasped at the sight of the winding handle. “What on earth is that?!” 

“A winding handle.” Sanne said, still a bit blunt. “Well, get it off me!!” Arthur flailed. Francis tried to pull the handle off, but failed. “It won’t come off.” He eventually said. 

“What do you mean it won’t come off?! It wasn’t there last night when I went to bed! Where did it come from? Why is this happening to me?!” 

“It’s the spell I’m afraid.” Sanne said with a shake of her head. “Just try to relax Arthur..” Francis said softly. But Arthur was still panicked. “Relax? Relax?! How can I relax with this appendage on my back?! Is there no dignity left for me? And what’s going to go next… my mind?!” 

“Easy now.. It’ll be alright.” Francis said, patting Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur shivered. “I’m frightened Francis..” He muttered. “We all are mon ami. You’re not alone.” Francis consoled. Sanne gave a nod. “We’re all in this together.” 

Suddenly Lovino came walking in. The three servants quickly straightened up a bit. Lovino looked down at the three. “It’s time for dinner. Where is he?” He growled. Arthur swallowed. “Perhaps I should see about him. Won’t be a minute.” He quickly left the room. Lovino huffed and paced the room a bit. 

“I told him to come down! What the fuck is taking so long?!” 

Sanne frowned a bit. Lovino was still as much as a brat as when she arrived here with her mother to work here. The prince had only been around 9 back then. Almost 14 years later, and he was still a brat. And if the curse wasn’t lifted within two weeks, he’d stay this beastly brat. 

“Do try to be patient, sir. The boy has lost his brother and his freedom, all in one day.” She said, maybe a bit sternly. “Master…have you thought that perhaps this boy could be the one to break the spell?” Francis tried. 

“Of course I have!” Lovino snapped. “..I’m no fool.” He grumbled right after. “Good! So… you fall in love with him, he falls in love with you and poof! The spell is broken! We’ll be human again by midnight!~” Francis said gleefully. 

Sanne rolled her eyes. “Francis, it’s not that easy. These things take time.” She sighed. “But we don’t have time! The daisy has already begun to wilt!” Francis said, sounding a bit desperate. 

“It’s no use! He’s so.. handsome.. and I’m…” Lovino began, suddenly turning to his servants. “Well, fucking look at me!” The two servants looked him over, both sharing the same thought. Lovino did have a point. 

“..Master, you must help him see past all that.” Sanne said. Lovino threw his arms up in desperation. “Well, I have no fucking clue how!” He grumbled. Sanne rolled her eyes, hopping up to the table to be more at Lovino’s height. 

“Well, you could start by trying to make yourself more presentable. Straighten up! Try to act like a gentleman.” She ordered. Lovino quickly straightened up a bit. 

“Oh! And when he comes in, give him your best smile!~ Come on, show us a smile!~” Francis suggested. Lovino forced a smile, accidently looking rather creepy. Both the servants winced a bit. 

“Ah.. Forget the smile. Impress him with your rapier wit!~” Francis smiled. 

“But be gentle.” Sanne reminded. 

“Shower him with compliments!~” 

“But be sincere.” 

“And above all..” 

“WHAT?!” Lovino grumbled, who had grown very confused by the contradicting suggestions. Both Francis and Sanne frowned at him. “You must control your temper!” They said at the same time. Lovino rolled his eyes and grumbled. Suddenly the door opened. Lovino quickly straightened up, looking at the door with what he hoped was a friendly smile. 

But instead of Antonio, in came Arthur. Lovino frowned. “..Well? Where is he?” He tried not to snap, but he couldn’t help but grumble a bit. Arthur looked at him, clearly faking ignorance. “Who?” 

“Antonio, of course!” Lovino grumbled. Arthur blinked. “Oh, yes, Antonio! W-Well, actually he’s in the process of… circumstances being what they are…” Lovino could tell Arthur was avoiding answering the question, so he gave an impatient growl. Arthur swallowed. 

“He’s not coming..” 

“Speak up.” Lovino growled. 

“H-He.. He’s not coming…” Arthur squeaked. Lovino growled angrily. “We’ll fucking see about that!” He began to stomp upstairs, the servants following him. “Your Lordship! Your grace! Your Eminence! Let’s not be hasty!” Arthur cried. 

“Stay where you are!” Lovino yelled. He stopped for a moment when Francis jumped in front of him, but he just went past him. “Out of the way you French bastard!” He growled. Lovino soon reached Antonio’s room, slamming the door open and barging in. “I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO COME DOWN TO DINNER!” 

Antonio looked up from his book, unfazed. “I’m not hungry.” He said simply, resuming reading his book. Lovino stomped over to him and tried to pull the book out of his hands. “I am the master of this castle and I’m telling you to come down to dinner!” 

But Antonio yanked the book back. “And I’m telling you… I’m not hungry.” He said, crossing his arms. Lovino gave a growl. “You’re hungry if I say you’re hungry!!” Antonio had the nerve to give a snort at that. “Don’t be ridiculous.” 

“What did you say…?!” 

“You can’t go around ordering people to be hungry.” 

“Why you..!” 

“Besides, it’s rude.” 

Lovino nearly lashed out at Antonio, but he kept his rage inside. For now. “It’s rude, is it? Then how about this. If you don’t come down to dinner, I will fucking drag you by the hair…!” 

“Ah, master..? That may not be the best way to win his affections.” Francis quickly said. “Please… Try to be a gentleman..” Arthur said. “But he’s being so _ difficult! _” Lovino growled at his servants. He then turned to Antonio again. “Why are you being so difficult?!” 

“Why are you acting like such a brat?” Antonio snapped back. 

“Because I want you to come down to dinner!!” Lovino yelled, stomping his foot. His rage only grew when Antonio had the nerve to grin cockily and say “Ah-ha!~ So you admit you’re being a brat!” 

Sanne had to resist the urge to chuckle. “Deep breaths, Master… Deep breaths.” She said as she saw how Lovino was about to explode. Lovino did take a few deep breaths. “..I’ll give him ONE last chance.” He huffed to the servants. He then turned to Antonio, trying to give a friendly smile. 

“Would you be so kind as to join me for dinner?” 

Arthur coughed a bit. “Please.” He said between coughs, trying to signal Lovino to finish the sentence politely. Lovino grit his teeth a bit. “..Per favore.” 

“Gracias, but no.” Antonio huffed, looking away. At this, Lovino snapped. “FINE! THEN STARVE!!” He ran out of the room, the three servants following him quickly. “Master, please!” Francis called. 

“IF HE DOESN’T EAT WITH ME, HE DOESN’T EAT AT ALL!” Lovino roared back, stomping to the West Wing, slamming doors. The three servants stood there, sighing. 

“What were we thinking? We will never be human again.” Francis sighed. “So it appears.. It’s hopeless..” Arthur replied solemnly. But Sanne was having none of it. 

“Well, what would you two have us do? Give up? I can’t give up until I hear the sound of Nicolaas’ and Ida’s laughter as they run through these halls again!” She snapped sternly. Arthur nodded, gathering his hopes again. 

“Quite right Miss Jansen! We mustn’t give up while there’s still a chance. Francis, stand watch at the door and if there’s the slightest change, inform me at once!” He ordered. Francis grinned and gave a mock salute. “Oui, mon Capitan!” He began to patrol along Antonio’s door. 

“Right. We should get back to the kitchen.” Arthur said. Sanne nodded, and together they went to the kitchen. 

* * *

“I ask nicely but he refuses! What…What the fuck does he want me to do…?! Beg?!” Lovino grumbled to himself as he stormed into the West Wing. He looked around the ruined room. It had once been his bedroom, before… Before the curse. Almost everything in this room was ruined now, a reminder of his rage just after the transformation. Only a few things were still intact. 

The first things were three statues, showing an older man sitting in a chair, a young boy painting a picture and a toddler playing with some building blocks. The statues didn’t move, for they were not staff. They were placed together, and regularly dusted off by Lovino. After all… They were his family. 

But the most important thing was a small table with a glass dome on it. Inside the glass dome, floating because of the magic, was the magic daisy. One or two petals had fallen off already. Lovino huffed at the flower, and picked up the magic mirror that was lying next to the dome. 

“Show me Antonio.” 

The mirror’s surface shimmered a bit, but soon the image of Antonio sitting on the bed with Feliks next to him was shown in the mirror. 

“I know the Master can be, like, very temperamental, but underneath all that matter fur, he’s not such a bad fellow~ Why don’t you give him a chance?” Feliks mused to Antonio, who merely huffed. 

“Why should I? Did he give Gabriel a chance?” 

“Well, no.. But once you get to know him…” Feliks began. 

“I don’t want to get to know him! I don’t want to have anything to do with him!” Antonio snapped, tears welling up again. 

Lovino put the mirror down, he himself shaking and on the verge of tears. He knew it. It was hopeless. Antonio would never see him as more than a monster. Lovino sniffled, feverishly blinking and rubbing his eyes to keep the tears in. Suddenly he noticed another petal drop off the daisy. 

“N-No..!” He reached for the dome, as if to stop the petal from falling. But it didn’t help. Lovino sighed heavily, looking away. Suddenly he remembered something. Maybe hope wasn’t lost yet. 

“..What was it they said..? Shower him with compliments. Impress him with your wit… Act like a gentleman.” He was silent for a second. “..Act like a gentleman. Act like a gentleman!” He pep-talked himself. 

* * *

Jeanne sneaked into the hallway, giggling softly as she saw her prey, Francis, fast asleep next to the door to the bedroom. She went over to him, fluttering her feathers a bit. “Oh Francis~ Francis~” She purred into his ear. 

Francis woke up with a start, but smirked flirtatiously as he saw Jeanne. “Ah, Jeanne~ Come to me, my little fluff~” He purred as he stood and went to kiss her hand. Only to get a face-full of feathers. Francis scrunched up his nose and let out a sneeze. Jeanne gasped. 

“It’s my hands, isn’t it? You do not love me anymore!” She began to cry, hiding her face in her hands. “Oh, this horrible, horrible spell… Ah..Ah-choo..!” She sneezed a bit. Francis gasped dramatically. “Ah, chérie…you cut me to the wick! Do you think a little thing like that would change my feeling for you? Now you really…” He grinned as he whispered in her ear. “..tickle my fancy~” 

Jeanne giggled and playfully pushed him away. “Oh no~” She mused. “Oh yes~” Francis purred, coming closer. “Oh, no, no, no!~ I’ve been burned by you before~” Jeanne giggled, running off. Francis followed her, ‘Ohonhonhon’-ing the whole way. 

* * *

In the bedroom, Antonio gave a sigh. His stomach grumbled a bit. Maybe he shouldn’t have declined dinner. He was a bit hungry. Well, he hadn’t even had lunch, so this was to be expected. “Actually Feliks… I am a little hungry.” Antonio said sheepishly. 

“Like, you should’ve said so broski~ I’ll ring for Miss Jansen and totally sing you an fabulous aria while we wait!~” Feliks grinned. He rung a little bell, and opened his mouth to begin singing. But Antonio stopped him. “That’s all right. I’ll go myself.” 

“But the master! He’s totally gonna throw a fit if he hears about this..!” 

Antonio gave a little smirk as he walked over to the door. “I know.” He smiled. “..Oooh, I like you!~” Feliks grinned as Antonio left. 

* * *

“I like this boy. I like his sass.” Sanne mused as she cleaned the sink a bit. “Well, if you ask me, he was just being stubborn. After all, the master did say ‘please.’” Arthur said. “I think that may be the first time I’ve ever heard him use that word.” The teapot chuckled. “The boy is already starting to have a good influence on him.” 

The both of them looked up as Antonio walked in. Sanne gave a small smile. “Oh, there you are. Glad to see you out and about.” She said as she hopped over to him. Antonio smiled a bit. Arthur waddled over to him. “I am Arthur, head of the household.” He said, holding out a handle as if to shake Antonio’s hand. Antonio squatted down to shake the handle with a few fingers. 

“ARTHURRRR!!! The boy! He’s gone! I swear my eyes never left the-“ Francis ran in, clearly panicked. He stopped as he saw Antonio, who looked at him curiously. Francis grinned. “Ah, bonjour mon ami!~” He chuckled, hopping over to Antonio. “Oh, uhm. Hola amigo.” Antonio replied. 

“This is Francis.” Arthur said. “Is there anything we can do to make your stay more comfortable? Anything …anything at all..?” 

“Well.. I am a little hungry..” Antonio began. “Except that.” Arthur interrupted. “Arthur!” Sanne said, a bit shocked at the other’s rudeness. “Well, you heard what the Master said!” The clock protested. 

“Lariekoek. I will not let him go hungry on my watch.” Sanne huffed. Arthur rolled his eyes. “Fine. Glass of water, crust of bread and then…” 

“Arthur! I am surprised at you. He’s not a prisoner, he’s our guest! We must make him feel welcome here!” Francis mused. “All right, dinner. But keep it down! If the Master finds out it’ll be our necks!” Arthur grumbled. 

“Of course…of course! But what is dinner without a little music?~” Francis chuckled as he led Antonio into the dining room. “M-MUSIC?!” Arthur sputtered. 

Francis set Antonio down in a chair, grinning as he hopped onto the table. “Mon chér monsieur. It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair, as the dining room proudly presents… Your dinner~” 

Antonio’s eyes grew almost comically wide as the feast began. He had no idea where to look. Everywhere, EVERYWHERE, was food and dancing and singing objects. Many dishes came past. Antonio tried of everything a bit, in awe at the taste. Everything was just… amazing. He had never, ever eaten like this. 

Soon enough, the dinner was over, and Antonio felt absolutely stuffed. He had a big smile on his face, finally feeling full for the first time in years. He clapped enthusiastically when the objects were done with their performance. “Wow, that was amazing you guys! Gracias! I loved it!~” 

Francis and the other objects smiled and bowed at their guest. Arthur couldn’t help a faint smile. “Good show, everyone! Good show! Well done!” He suddenly looked down at his own clock. “Oh my goodness, look at the time. Off to bed!” The clock urged, waving objects out of the room. 

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly go to bed now. It’s my first time in an enchanted castle!~” Antonio smiled, standing up and quickly lifting his hand from the table with a chuckle to let a fork run past. 

“E- Enchanted..! W-Who said anything about the castle being enchanted..?” Arthur stuttered nervously, before turning to Francis. “It was you, wasn’t it, frogface?!” He moved to try and punch the other, but Antonio gently picked the two up and held them away from eachother. 

“Actually.. I figured it out for myself. It _ is _rather obvious, even for me.” 

The two objects looked at each other, nodding in agreement. Antonio had a point. They were soon placed down again. Antonio looked around the room a bit, smiling. “I’d like to look around, if that’s all right.” He asked. “Perhaps you’d like a tour, mon ami?” Francis suggested. 

“Wait a minute…wait a minute. I’m not sure that’s such a good idea…” Arthur protested, taking Francis aside. “We can’t have you know who, go poking around you know where…if you know what I mean.” 

“Perhaps you’d like to take me. I’m _ sure _ you ’d know _ everything _ there is to know about the castle~” Antonio said with a smile he only used in certain situations. 

Back in the village, Gabriel had called this particular smile a ‘Toni smoulder’. Antonio didn’t use his looks much, but if he wanted something done by another person who wasn’t family, he’d use this smile and a certain tone of voice. He knew this certain expression and certain _ purr _ of his voice could make people _ melt _. 

And melt Arthur did. The clock seemed to flush a bright red, and he fidgeted a bit. “W-Well…actually, I do!” He announced proudly, beginning to lead Antonio though the castle. “May I draw your attention to our hand painted ceiling complete with cherubs frolicking in delight amidst the nymphs and centaurs…” 


	6. If I can't love him / Something there

Lovino had gone to the kitchen when Antonio was already gone on the tour. The prince had made some pasta, basing the recipe on how he remembered it. He eventually had the meal made, and went up to bring the food to Antonio’s room. “Act like a gentleman. Act like a gentleman..” He knocked. “..Uhm. A-Antonio..?” Damn his stutter..! Lovino cleared his throat. “Antonio..?” 

“Now if you will notice the unusual inverted archways, you will see that this is yet another example of the late neo-classic baroque period….” 

Lovino’s ears twitched as he picked up Arthur’s voice from another hallway. He sneaked towards the hallway, ducking into the shadows. Arthur was clearly giving a tour, Francis and Antonio walking after him. Lovino blinked. Why was Antonio out..? Oh well, at least he knew where he was now… 

Arthur was still speaking. “And…as I always say…if it’s not baroque, don’t fix it!~” He laughed at his own joke. Antonio let out a small laugh as if to make Arthur not feel bad about his bad joke. Arthur noticed and continued the tour. “May I draw your attention to the flying buttresses above the aviary…?” 

Antonio stopped a bit, letting Arthur walk on. He looked at Francis, a smile on his face. Lovino couldn’t help but smile at that. That was the first time he saw Antonio smile since he arrived here. 

“Wow Francis, this castle is absolutely amazingly beautiful! I had no idea!~” Antonio beamed, but then his expression changed to a frown. “..If only HE weren’t here..” He muttered, and then went up to catch up with Arthur. 

Once they were gone, Lovino stepped out of the shadow, the plate of food shaking in his hands. It seemed to be mocking him. Lovino let out a growl, tears welling up in his eyes. “..Act like a gentleman..? I’m nothing but a fucking fool.” 

* * *

“…and thanks to some quick thinking on my part the disaster was averted. And that was the last time a stone of that weight was quarried in this area.” Arthur explained, smiling still. Antonio had to stifle a yawn. Arthur knew a lot about the castle, he had to admit that. But he was speaking so…. Boringly. Antonio looked around, suddenly noticing a staircase. 

“What’s up there?” 

Arthur and Francis looked at the staircase, seemed to pale and quickly jumped in front of the stairs as if to block it from view. “Nothing! Nothing at all of any interest in the West Wing!” Arthur laughed nervously. 

“Ah. So that’s the West Wing.” Antonio mused, staring thoughtfully at the staircase. Francis lightly bumped Arthur on the head with one of his candles. “Nice going.” He huffed at the clock. 

Antonio began to move to the staircase. “I wonder what he’s hiding up there..” He muttered. “H-Hiding..? Hah.. Haha!~ The Master isn’t ‘hiding’ anything!~” Arthur chuckled, even though he and Francis tried to block Antonio from going up the stairs. 

“Then it wouldn’t be forbidden, now would it?” Antonio pointed out. “P-Perhaps you would like to see something else!~ We have exquisite tapestries dating all the way back to Aloysious the Pretentious…” Arthur began nervously. 

“Gracias, but maybe later.” Antonio sighed, tried to step over Francis and Arthur. “Perhaps you would like to see the gardens…or…or the library?” Francis quickly asked. This caught Antonio’s attention. He looked at the two. “You have a library?” 

“O-Oui! With.. With books!” Francis quickly beamed, beginning to lead Antonio away from the stairs. “Oh yes! Scads of books! Mountains of books! Forests of books! Cascades! Cloudbursts! Swamps of books!” Arthur piped in, leading Antonio away along with Francis. 

“Books with pictures! Books with words!” 

“More words than you could ever be able to read in a lifetime!” 

“Books on every subject, by every author who ever set pen to paper!” 

Antonio chuckled lightly, following them. But as soon as he saw they were distracted, he snuck back to the staircase that leads to the West Wing. He felt a bit giddy, breaking the one rule his captor made up. That would show him. 

The West Wing was rather dusty and dirty, Antonio found out. Paintings and furniture were broken and ripped apart. Mirrors were shattered. Antonio found a big room that seemed to once have been a bedroom. He was careful not to make a sound, to not alert anyone he was here. 

Suddenly he noticed 3 statues standing together. They weren’t dusty, they looked like they had been made very recently. Did Lovino make statues? They were rather lifelike, he had to admit. Antonio carefully touched the almost fragile looking curl on the smallest statue, a toddler it seemed. How did one make such thin stonework? 

His attention was suddenly caught by something glowing. Antonio looked at it, eyes growing wide as he saw a beautiful looking daisy floating under a glass dome on a small table. He walked over to it, studying it. How beautiful… But it looked like it was wilting. Maybe it needed water..? Antonio carefully took the glass dome, lifting it up and placing it down on the table next to the daisy. He was just about to carefully feel the flower, when suddenly… 

“DON’T FUCKING TOUCH THAT..!!” 

Antonio jumped back in shock as Lovino suddenly stood before him, grabbing the glass dome and quickly but carefully putting it over the daisy again. Lovino sighed in relief when he realized the flower was safe. His fear suddenly turned to anger, and he looked at Antonio angrily, who was slowly backing away. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?!” 

“I.. I.. Lo siento.. I..” 

“I told you to never come here!” 

“I-I know, b-but..” 

“DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU COULD’VE DONE?! GET OUT!” 

Antonio tried to quickly move past him, but in his rage, Lovino grabbed his arm. “YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO BE HERE! NO FUCKING RIGHT!” He shook him like a rag-doll, tossing him to the ground and ripping Antonio’s sleeve in the process. 

As Antonio fell to the floor, staring up at Lovino fearfully with a little bit of blood running down his arm, Lovino suddenly realized what he had done. “..O-Oh no.. A-Antonio, I.. Mi dis-“ He tried to reach for him to help him up, but Antonio slapped his paw away. 

“D-Don’t touch me!” He began to scramble away. Lovino felt guilt and fear grip at his heart. “No, I..” He tried, but Antonio didn’t let him finish. 

“Promise or no promise. I won’t stay here!” 

And with those words, Antonio ran off. Lovino tried to follow but stopped after a few steps. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten you! I-I.. I didn’t mean to hurt you..!” His vision blurred with tears as he stared down at his paws. “Y-You don’t understand... There’s so little left of me… So little left…” 

Lovino hid his face in his hands, beginning to cry. Suddenly all the guilt and sadness from all these years just spilled out of him. He had completely ruined his chances at becoming human now. The daisy only had a week or two left before it would lose all his petals. 

“Just let the world be done with me..” Lovino sobbed. 

* * *

Run. He had to run. That’s the only thing that echoed through Antonio’s head. He couldn’t stop. He had to get back home. Be with Gabriel. Forget this ever happened. Suddenly his foot got stuck underneath a loose root from a tree, making him faceplant onto the cold ground. It had begun to snow when he left the castle. 

Antonio groaned in pain, clutching his wounded arm. The crimson contrasted very heavily with the white snow. He went to get up, when suddenly, he heard the howling of wolves. His blood ran cold, and he quickly grabbed a heavy branch. As the wolves advanced on him, Antonio tried his best to fend them off. But there were too many. They managed to bring him down to the ground, ready to attack him. 

But suddenly there was a loud roar, and the wolf that was about to attack Antonio was grabbed by a very scary looking Lovino. He threw the wolf away from Antonio, hovering over him to protect him. The wolves growled and went to attack Lovino instead. 

Antonio managed to get up and fight some of the wolves with Lovino. And once the wolves had fled, Antonio dropped the branch in relief. He saw Lovino stagger a bit. The prince had sustained a lot more injuries. Lovino let out a small painful moan and then collapsed into the snow. 

For a moment, Antonio didn’t move. This was his chance, he could run now! But.. He couldn’t leave Lovino here. The other saved his life. Carefully, Antonio went to help Lovino to his feet, helping him back to the castle. 

Once they were at the castle, Antonio helped Lovino into the big chair by the fireplace. The servants came with towels, warm water, and bandages. Antonio dipped a towel into the bowl of warm water, wrung it out, and then went over to Lovino, who was licking the wound on his arm. 

“..Oh, don’t do that..” Antonio sighed, trying to put the towel on Lovino’s wound. But Lovino kept moving his arm. Antonio frowned. “Just hold still..” He soon managed to place the towel on the wound. Lovino let out a loud roar. 

“THAT FUCKING HURTS YOU BASTARD!!” 

Antonio gave a frown. “If you keep still, it wouldn’t hurt as much.” He sighed. “If you hadn’t run away, this wouldn’t have happened!” Lovino growled. “If you hadn’t frightened me, I wouldn’t have run away!” Antonio huffed. 

It took a moment before Lovino could come up with a retort. “..Well… Well, YOU shouldn’t have been in the West Wing!” Lovino said with an expression that seemed to say ‘Top that.’ Antonio narrowed his eyes. “And YOU should learn to control your temper!” 

Lovino fell silent. He had been told that many, many times. He huffed and looked away. Antonio let out a small sigh. “Now hold still. This may sting a little.” He gently pressed the towel against Lovino’s wound again. Lovino hissed and lightly stomped his foot to deal with the string, whimpering like a puppy. 

Antonio couldn’t help the small chuckle and continued cleaning the wound. “..By the way..? Gracias.. For saving my life.” He eventually said. Lovino looked at him in surprise, but then realized he had to say something back now. “Uhm... P-Prego.” 

As the two were bonding a bit, the servants that had been watching sighed in relief. “Well, that’s more like it. I knew they could get along if they tried.” Sanne said with a smile. “Ah, the ice is broken at last.” Francis sighed happily. “And not a moment too soon either. Have you taken a good look at the daisy lately? It’s losing petals at an alarming rate!” Arthur exclaimed softly. 

“Indeed.” Sanne agreed. “Not to mention the fact that I can hardly bend over at all anymore. And do NOT take that out of context Francis, I’m warning you.” She added with a huff at the end. Francis smirked lightly, but then just gave a normal smile. 

“Clearly, it’s time for us to give them a little push. We must find a nice romantic way to draw them closer together.” He mused. “I have just the thing,” Sanne replied, hopping over to Antonio and Lovino. “How about we warm you two up a bit with a nice bowl of soup?” 

“Soup?” Francis and Arthur asked, a bit confused. “Trust me, it’ll work.” Sanne reassured them. She led Antonio and Lovino to the dining room. Lovino wanted to go sit down, but Sanne cleared her throat with a stern look, gesturing to the chair where Antonio would be sitting and Antonio himself. 

It took a second, but then Lovino got the hint. He quickly scurried back, pulling the chair back for Antonio. Antonio smiled lightly at him, nodding in thanks as he went to sit down. Lovino smiled back, pushing the chair back a bit too harshly, making Antonio fall onto the chair. He winced but didn’t comment on Lovino’s behavior. 

Lovino went to try and sit down in his own chair, but only managed to kind of perch onto it. Antonio didn’t give any indication that that bothered him. In fact, he merely gave a small smile, as if he found the other’s sitting style adorable. Sanne soon came hopping over with a few other servants, putting two bowls of soup on the table. 

“Eet smakelijk.” The teapot mused. Antonio nodded in thanks at the servants, and took his spoon to begin to eat. As he looked up at Lovino, he blinked. Lovino had tried to grab his spoon as well, but was clearly struggling with holding the utensil in his rather large paw. Antonio’s expression turned to one of sympathy, and he lightly coughed to get Lovino’s attention. He put his spoon down, took his bowl and held it up a bit to get his point across. Lovino understood and did the same as Antonio. They sort of toasted with their bowls, and then just carefully drank their soup from the bowls. 

Once they both ate their soup and had warmed up a bit, Sanne hopped over to Antonio again. “Come on, let’s get you out of those wet clothes.” She led him out of the room. As they walked away, Antonio looked back at Lovino. He smiled a bit as he saw that Lovino had some soup in the fur around his mouth, and he made a small gesture to tell him to wipe it away. 

Lovino quickly wiped his mouth with the napkin that was laying on the table, silent for a moment. Why did he feel so… weird inside? Did Sanne put something in the soup? But it was a... good feeling. For some reason. His heart was pounding harshly and he felt all.. choked up. Why? 

“When he smiled at me… I got all choked up. My heart started pounding and I couldn’t breathe!” Lovino exclaimed softly, looking at his servants kind of panicked. Francis and Arthur merely smiled. “That’s good!” Arthur reassured him. “..That’s good?” Lovino blinked. “Oui, that’s excellent!~” Francis mused. 

Lovino thoughtfully stared down at his bandaged arm. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone…” He muttered, still in thought. “I want to give him something.” Lovino said impulsively, until he realized he had no idea what Antonio would like. “..But what..?” 

Flowers maybe? No, no, girls liked flowers. Antonio wasn’t a girl. He surely wasn’t a girl… Not when he fought like that.. Not that women couldn’t fight, but.. You know. 

Or chocolates? Lovino knew Nicolaas could make chocolates. Would Antonio like those..? But with what filling then? Lovino quite enjoyed truffle or praline, but would Antonio prefer strawberries better? 

The questions bounced through his head like bouncing balls. Why was he thinking about this anyway…? Why did he care so much about Antonio..? Why did it feel so nice when Antonio smiled at him? 

He was shook out of his pondering when Arthur spoke up. “Well, there’s the usual things. Hunting gear, a weapon, a good beer..” But Francis cut him off. “Oh non, non, this is not an ordinary boy. He doesn’t seem like the type to go shoot animals for fun. It has to be something special. Something that sparks his interest… Something…” His candles suddenly lit up brighter with an idea. “Oh, I know!~” 

Francis hopped over to Lovino and whispered his idea to him. Lovino blinked. “..Are you sure..?” He was a little sceptical about that idea. “Oui! Positive!~” Francis beamed. Lovino narrowed his eyes a bit. “..You better not be fucking with me, you bastard..” He grumbled. 

Suddenly Antonio walked in, wearing a rather nice red suit. He looked a lot better than in those old clothes he wore when he arrived here. Lovino stared at him, a little bit in awe. Arthur nudged him. “..Say something about the suit.” He whispered. 

“….It’s red.” Lovino said, though a bit confused at what Arthur meant. Both Arthur and Francis facepalmed. “A compliment your Highness, a compliment..!” Francis sighed, whispering as well. Lovino blinked, blushing at his own mistake. “Oh. Uhm… That suit looks.. good on you.. I guess..” 

Antonio gave a small smile, looking down at the suit and then at Lovino. “Gracias. Feliks suggested I wore it.” He said, maybe a bit shyly. “I-It does look good on you indeed.” Lovino burst out before he could stop himself. Antonio smiled more, blushing a bit. For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Then Lovino quickly went over to Antonio. “Antonio? I.. I uhm.. I have something to show you. But you have to close your eyes and don’t peek. It’s.. uhm.. It’s a surprise..!” 

Antonio blinked, but nodded and obediently closed his eyes. Lovino smiled lightly and began to walk away to lead him to the place Francis suggested. “Get the boy.” Francis warned quickly as Antonio not followed due to not seeing Lovino walk away. “..R-Right.” Lovino muttered, gently taking Antonio’s hand and leading him away. 

A few minutes into the walk, Antonio let out a chuckle. “…So where are we going?” He asked, eyes still closed. “..If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?” Lovino sighed, though he couldn’t help but smile in amusement. Antonio couldn’t see it anyway. “Ah, sí, I suppose so~” Antonio smiled. “Hm-hm. Now just keep your eyes closed until I say otherwise.” Lovino ordered, the usual snap out of his voice. 

“Alright~” Antonio chuckled, holding on to Lovino a bit tighter as they walked. Soon enough, they reached the room Lovino wanted to show Antonio. He lead the man into the room, setting him down in the middle of the room. “..May I open my eyes yet?” 

“No, n-not yet. Just a second.” 

“….Okay. One.. Now?~” 

“..D-Don’t play smart with me now, bastard..” Lovino huffed, walking over to the curtains to open them and let light into the room. Antonio reacted a bit to the light hitting his closed eyelids. “..Can I open them now?” 

“Alright. Now.” 

Antonio opened his eyes, which immediately grew wide in wonder, his jaw dropping. He was standing in the middle of a GIANT library. The many filled bookcases reached to the ceiling, and Antonio nearly hurt his neck from looking up. He had a feeling he could spend decades in here, reading non-stop. And even then he would only manage to read like 5 % of the books that were in here. 

“D-Dios mío, I’ve never seen so many books in all my life!” Antonio exclaimed happily, smiling brightly. “Y-You like it..?” Lovino asked hesitantly. Antonio looked at him, a smile on his face that made the prince’s knees kind of weak. “¡Es maravilloso!~” He beamed. 

“Then… Then it’s yours.” Lovino proclaimed. Antonio’s eyes widened more, and he sort of hug-attacked Lovino. “¡Gracias! ¡Mucho gracias!” He cheered, letting go soon with a small blush covering his cheeks. Antonio turned and went to look at the books. 

Lovino blushed under his fur, following Antonio as he looked around the library, looking at all the titles of the books. To be honest, Lovino never really read much, mostly because of reasons. It was his grandfather and his parents who read these books. Sadly, his parents passed away many years ago. 3 years before the curse, to be exact. His mother died giving birth to Marcello, his youngest brother. His father had been so heartbroken that the king had literally died from grief. Romulus, his grandfather, had taken over the position of ruler until Lovino would be of age to rule. 

But of course, that day hadn’t come in time. That cold winter’s night when Lovino was only 13 happened, that beggar woman had appeared at the door and… Well. Lovino didn’t want to think about the rest now. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Antonio exclaimed something and pulled a book out of the bookcase. 

“Oh! This is one of my favorites! It’s ‘King Arthur’, have you ever read it?” 

Lovino stared at the cover. It looked old, and faded. He barely managed to read the title. “Uhm.. No.” He admitted. Antonio smiled and carefully flipped through the pages. “Oh, you don’t know what you’re missing. I’d love to read this again.. Oh, no, wait.” He offered Lovino the book. “You can read it first.” 

The prince swallowed and forced a smile. “O-Oh, uhm.. T-That’s alright, you can read it.” He pushed the book back quickly. But Antonio pushed it back again with a smile. “No really, you read it.” 

“N-No, you.” 

“No, it’s okay, I’ve read it before, you can-“ 

“NO!” 

Antonio jumped a bit at Lovino’s outburst, and frowned. Lovino swallowed and gave a sigh. “…I.. I can’t, alright?!” He was certain Antonio now would see him as stupid or ridicule him for being illiterate, but Antonio’s eyes merely… softened in sympathy. 

“…You never learned to read..?” 

“Well.. Only a little… And that was a long goddamn time ago..” Lovino muttered, a little ashamed. Antonio thought for a second. “W-Well.. Uhm. It just so happens that this is a perfect book to read aloud.” He went to sit down on a couch in the library. “Come on. Sit with me, I’ll read it to you.” 

Lovino sat down hesitantly, looking at Antonio as he opened the book to begin reading. Meanwhile, some of the servants were looking through the slightly opened door. 

“..Well, who would’ve thought?” Arthur chuckled. “Would you look at them..” Sanne mused. “Who would’ve thought they’d come together on their own, huh?” Francis grinned. “I’ll give it a few days. There’s something there that wasn’t there before~” He added. 

“What?” Nicolaas asked, curious. Sanne gave a chuckle. “Ja, inderdaad.. There’s something there indeed.” She mused happily. “What’s there Sanne?” Ida asked. 

“I’ll tell you two when you’re a bit older. Now come on you two, let’s give them some privacy.” She began to hop away along with the others. 

“..Sanne?” 

“Ja Nicolaas?” 

“…Will Ida and I… ever be normal again?” 

Sanne had to think for a moment. She couldn’t make promises that may not come true. 

“…I hope so.” 

“When will we know?” 

Sanne looked at her siblings fondly. “..Soon. If it’s to be. It’ll be very soon now though. Come along now.” 

* * *

“..Knowing not that this was indeed the legendary sword called "Excalibur," Arthur tried to pull it from the stone. He tried once.. to no avail.” Antonio read, holding back a chuckle as he saw Lovino frown. The prince was clearly very engrossed in the story. 

“..He tried a second time, but still, he could not pull it out.” 

Another grumble. 

“Then, for the third time, Arthur drew forth the sword...!” 

“S-So that must mean he’s the king..!” Lovino exclaimed as he jumped up in excitement. Antonio couldn’t help but chuckle that time. “Wait and see~” Lovino blushed at that and quickly sat down. He looked down at his lap. 

“…I never knew books could do that..” 

Antonio looked up from the book at Lovino. “…Do what?” Lovino gave a shrug. “..It may sound stupid..” 

“Aw, come on, tell me.” 

“..P-Promise not to laugh at me..” 

“I promise.” 

Lovino gave a sigh. “..It feels like that stupid book can.. take me away from this place. And make me forget. At least… for a little while.” Antonio tilted his head a bit. “..Forget? Forget what?” 

“Who I..” Lovino stopped himself and stared at his paws. “…_ What _I am.” He corrected himself, frowning. 

Antonio blinked. He suddenly saw the pain in Lovino’s eyes, and realized he hadn’t been the only one who had been lonely for years. Antonio smiled lightly, using the little string attached to the books spine to keep the page as he closed the book. “….We have something in common, you know..” 

“..What then..?” Lovino asked, a bit confused. Antonio gave a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his neck. “Well… In the town where I come from.. The people always found me… Odd.” 

Lovino stared at him for a bit. “..You odd? I mean... Y-You’re... a bit different, but... Odd?” Antonio just gave a shrug. “That’s what I’ve heard for the years I’ve lived there. I never did anything ‘manly’, I guess… That’s why I know how it feels to be different. And… And I know how lonely it can be.” He said as he put his hand on Lovino’s paw. 

For what seemed like an eternity, the two just looked at each other, feeling like the wall between them had suddenly smashed into a million pieces. Antonio soon pulled his hand back as a blush covered his cheeks again and he quickly grabbed the book again. 

“…For the third time, Arthur drew forth the sword. And there arose from the people a great shout. “Arthur is king!”” 

“…Told you so.” 


	7. Human again - If I can't love him reprise

A few days later, the servants all began to feel a bit… giddy. Antonio and Lovino spend every day in the library together, reading book after book, all while talking and clearly growing closer. It was very clear that they were friends at this point, or maybe even more. 

“Sanne? I have a funny feeling.” Nicolaas said to his older sister as they prepared some lunch in the kitchen along with Francis and Arthur. “Ja, me too! It feels kind of… bubbly and happy!” Ida piped in. Sanne looked at her siblings and chuckled. “…I know. I’ve been feeling it too.” 

“But what is it?” 

“It is hope, young Ida~” Francis mused. “The day we’ve all been waiting for will be here soon!~” He added. “Ah, I do wish that will happen soon.” Sanne smiled. “Oui, I hope so too~ I’ll be finally chic and sporting again, with a mademoiselle on each arm!~ Courting every beautiful lady in sight~” Francis mused as he winked as the teapot. 

Sanne rolled her eyes, giving Francis a small smack with her spout. “Watch it you French flirt. You’ll make some husbands angry.” Francis blinked and smirked. “But you’re still a beautiful single flower Sanne~” 

“Doesn’t mean I want to be courted.” The teapot huffed. Nicolaas and Ida giggled a bit. “You were rather friendly with Antonio’s brother though~” Nicolaas mused. “_ Mond _ _ op slot _ _ Nicolaas _ _ , _” Sanne ordered. “But what about you Arthur? What will you do when we’re human again?” She asked, changing the subject. 

“Retire and find a house by the sea.” Arthur huffed. “Far, FAR away from fools made of wax.” He added. “Ah, mon ami, you wound me deeply!” Francis protested overdramatically. Sanne rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Well, if we want that to happen, the two lovebirds in the library have to fall in love first.” 

“Ah, yes. Speaking of the two lovebirds, why don’t we check up on them?” Arthur suggested. The other 3 servants nodded and they went to the library, peeking through the open door. Antonio was still reading to Lovino. 

“..And there never was a story of more woo, then the story of Juliet, and her Romeo.” The Spaniard closed the book. “..That’s the end.” Lovino seemed to blink back tears. “..What a.. uhm.. b-beautiful story.” He rubbed his eyes a bit with his paws. Antonio smiled a bit. “I knew you’d like it. Hey, um… I want to ask you something.” 

“What?” 

“…A second chance.. I guess..? Would.. Would you have dinner with me tonight? Please?” 

For a moment, Lovino was staring at Antonio wide-eyed. “D-Dinner..? Me..? With.. With you..? Th-That… That could be… That might be… uhm.. S-Sì. Sì, I’ll have dinner with you. B-But don't… don’t think a-anything weird of it just because I said yes!” 

Antonio actually began to laugh a bit. “Then it’s a deal~” At this little interaction, the servants at the door silently squealed. They knew what they had to do. They had to make the castle in tip-top shape once again. 

* * *

The tavern was rather dark as Sadiq waited along with Tarkan for the man they wanted to speak to. A single candle stood on the table, illuminating the empty tavern a bit and casting shadows on their face. Tarkan swallowed. 

“D-Do we still have to wait long..?” 

“Patience Tarkan.” 

Tarkan flinched from the harsh tone Sadiq gave him, and he decided to shut up. Soon enough, the tavern door opened, letting the cold wind in as a man stepped inside. He wasn’t that tall, maybe a little shorter then Sadiq, but his aura made the town’s hunk swallow a bit. As the mystery man sat down, the two men got a good look at his face. 

He was tan, but with numerous scars on his face. His long raven-black hair was pulled in a ponytail that draped over his shoulder. His white bangs were a strong contrast to his black locks, and his nearly purple eyes were cold and sharp. 

“..Santigo. I’m glad you could make it.” Sadiq said. Santigo just rolled his eyes. “Cut to the chase. I don’t usually leave the asylum at night, so you better make it worth my while.” His voice was sharp, like a cold blade, even with that distinct Spanish accent. Sadiq nodded and quickly passed the other a rather heavy pouch of coins. Santigo took the pouch. “..I’m listening.” 

“You see, it’s like this.. I want to marry Antonio. But there was a slight… problem.” Sadiq began. “Yeah, he turned him down flat!~” Tarkan laughed, which caused him to get a smack on the head by Sadiq. 

“I’ve tried everything. Flowers, chocolates, serenades.. But the guy just won’t swoon for me!” Sadiq grumbled, ignoring the pitiful whine his henchman gave. “..But I know he will. He just needs to be… convinced.” 

Santigo raised an eyebrow at Sadiq. “…Not to rain on your little parade, but just what do you want me to do? I lock people up. I’m not a lonely-hearts club.” 

“I-I know… But listen. Antonio absolutely adores his older brother. And we all know that guy is a loony crackpot.” Sadiq quickly said, throwing in a nervous laugh. Santigo blinked slowly. “..Gabriel is not dangerous.” 

“No, he isn’t, but… He can still come in handy. If you would threaten to lock him up… Antonio would do anything to save his brother.” Sadiq added. “Yeah! Even marry a guy like him!” Tarkan chuckled. He quickly ducked away and hit himself with a tankard before Sadiq could smack him. 

“So let me get this clear. You want me to threaten to lock Gabriel up… Unless Antonio marries you?” Santigo asked, leaning forward to the two men, who backed up a bit. “..That’s despicable.” He growled before a big smirk spread across his face, making the two grown men shudder. 

“Count me in.” 

* * *

“Master, tonight is the night~ Tonight, you will confess your love~” Francis mused as he and some other servants prepared Lovino for dinner. The prince was sitting in front of the mirror, clearly nervous as he toyed with the fancy buttons on his sleeve. “..I’m… not sure if I can do this.” 

“Of course you can!~” Francis mused as a few combs flew around to fix Lovino’s fur. “You care for Antonio, right?” Arthur asked. 

Lovino blushed, nodding. “M-More than anything. B-But..” He fell silent. “But what?” Francis asked. It took a few moments, and a big sigh from the prince, before Lovino answered. “…What if he laughs at me? W-What if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if he.. What if..” 

“You can’t focus on the ‘what if’ all the time, master. That will only drive you crazy and make you more nervous. Now look at yourself.” Arthur mused. Lovino shook his head, but was forced to look at his own reflection. 

He didn’t look half too bad. His fur was nicely combed, even though that one stubborn curl would never be tamed with some mere combs. The blue suit he was wearing had been once made by Feliks himself, the decorations really standing out. His teeth had been brushed thoroughly, and a good part of his fur was cut off so he could at least look more like… himself. 

“…G-Grazie.” Lovino stuttered, smiling a bit at his servants. Francis smiled back. “De rien, Master~ Now. There will be beautiful music, romantic candlelight, provided by myself, and then when the moment is right…” 

“How will I know that?” Lovino asked. “When will the moment be right?” The servants had to think a bit at that query. “..You will feel like you’ll be sick,” Arthur said, earning him an eye roll from Francis. 

“Ah, non, non. You will know because you _ feel _it. In here.” The candelabra said, using one of his candles to point at Lovino’s heart. “From the heart. Speak from the heart.” 

Lovino swallowed, putting his paw over his heart. “Speak from the heart. I…” Suddenly all the confidence flew out the window. “..I-I can’t!” 

“You must!” The two servants said. “The daisy has almost lost all its petals!” Arthur reminded him. Lovino swallowed, still shaking. “…I... Alright. I… I’ll try. No, I’ll do it.” 

“That’s more like it!~” Francis smiled. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Sanne hopped in, smiling. “Master, Antonio is waiting for you~” Lovino froze up, but then mentally pep talked himself. He stood and walked out of the room to meet Antonio. 

There, at the top of the stairs, he stood. Feliks had clearly done his best to tame the wavy mess that was Antonio’s curls, but to be honest, Lovino liked the messy look. It was very… Antonio. The suit he was wearing was a beautiful golden color, though it seemed like the bottom of the jacket was a bit too long. Any longer and it would’ve been a dress. The idea of Antonio wearing a dress made Lovino both blush and wanting to burst into laughter. 

But, he kept his cool. Or tried to. Lovino smiled up at Antonio, who smiled back and walked down the stairs. Antonio bowed at Lovino, who bowed back and hesitantly offered the tanned man his arm, who took it with a smile. 

The two walked over to the dinner table that had been set out. Lovino pulled Antonio’s chair back so the man could sit down, and then went to his own seat. The two of them ate the delicious dinner, occasionally meeting each other’s eyes, smiling at each other shyly. Antonio seemed to enjoy himself, smiling at the servants that were playing soft music for them. Suddenly he stood and walked over to Lovino. 

“Dance with me?” 

Lovino swallowed. “W-Well, I..” His sputtering was interrupted by Francis and Arthur, who gave him a light shove and hissed “Dance with him!” at the prince. Lovino quickly stood and nodded at Antonio. 

The man smiled and took the beast by his paw, taking him to the ballroom that was connected to the dining room. Antonio gently placed his hands and Lovino’s paws in position for a waltz and smiled up at Lovino. Lovino smiled back shyly, and the dance began. 

It began slow, clumsy, and rather awkward, but after a while the dance grew more fluid and romantic. The slow violin and piano music made the atmosphere feel like the two dancers were all alone with each other, dancing slowly and happily. Lovino blinked in happy surprise when Antonio nuzzled close to him as they danced, placing his head on Lovino’s chest. 

The prince faintly saw Francis and Arthur cheer for him, but he didn’t even care about those two now. All he could focus on now was Antonio, how fluidly they moved together, how well his hands fit in his paws, how fluttery he felt in his chest when Antonio looked up at his with his cheerful green eyes. It felt like Lovino finally realized something vital. This feeling, the warm fluttery feeling… 

It was love. He loved Antonio. 

After a while, the dance came to an end, and the two went to the balcony, watching the stars for a bit, hand and paw intertwined still. They sat down together, Antonio’s head resting on Lovino’s shoulder. Lovino carefully put an arm around the man, smiling softly. The two were silent for a few minutes, the only sound beside the silence being the soft chirping of crickets. 

Lovino soon broke the silence with a question. One that he had been wanting to ask the whole evening. “Antonio…? Are you… happy here?” 

Antonio looked up, smiling softly. “…Sí. It’s wonderful here. Everyone is so nice to me. Francis, Arthur, Miss Jansen, Nicolaas and Ida… It’s like the family I’ve never had.” 

“…But are you happy here… with me?” Lovino asked hesitantly. Antonio blinked, and then nuzzled into Lovino’s hold. “…I am,” He said softly. “..but I really miss Gabriel. He must be really worried about me.. I really wish I could see him again.” 

Lovino looked at Antonio, sighing softly. He had expected this… But then an idea hit him. “There is a way. Come on.” He took Antonio by the hand and brought him up to the West Wing. Antonio seemed a little nervous about going to that place, considering the last visit to this part of the castle had not really gone well. Lovino gave him a smile to reassure him it was okay, and grabbed the mirror, handing it to Antonio. 

“This mirror will show you anything. Anything you wish to see.” 

Antonio took the mirror, looking at it in curiosity. “….I… I’d like to see my brother, please.” He said hesitantly. Immediately, the surface of the mirror began to glow brightly and Antonio’s reflection morphed into the image of Gabriel. 

He did not look good. The poor guy was lying in bed, clearly sick. Rizada was nuzzling and licking her owner’s face, desperately trying to help. But the poor dog couldn’t do much of course. Antonio’s eyes grew wide at the image. “Oh no, Gaby!” He said, as if his brother could hear him. 

“What’s wrong?” Lovino asked in concern. Antonio looked up at Lovino, shaking. “I-It’s Gabriel, he’s sick! H-He’s all alone and… and..” He got choked up just thinking about it. 

Lovino swallowed and looked at the daisy for a brief moment. Not many petals were left. But… He had no choice. 

“..Then go to him.” 

“..¿Q-Qué..?” Antonio asked, surprised. 

“I release you. You’re no longer my prisoner, you haven’t been for a while. Go to your brother. He needs you.” 

Antonio blinked in surprise again, swallowing. “….You mean… I’m free..?” 

“…sì.” Lovino whispered, looking up at Antonio, eyes watering a bit. Antonio began to smile, and suddenly hugged Lovino. “…Thank you, Lovino… I… I’ll come back once he’s okay again.” 

“You don’t have to… You don’t have to come back.” Lovino said softly, hugging back. “But I will.” Antonio said, pulling back and smiling up at the other. “I promise.” 

He went to give the mirror back, but Lovino pushed it back into Antonio’s hands. “Keep it. So you can look back once in a while.” His voice became more choked up every second. “…Antonio…?” 

“¿Sí? What is it?” 

“…I…” He had to say it, this was his last chance, he… he had to… “Go. Go to your brother now. Go and make sure he’s okay.” Lovino said, lightly pushing Antonio towards the door. Antonio nodded and gave Lovino a last quick hug before rushing out of the room. 

Lovino hugged back and almost didn’t want to let go. He let go though, and watched Antonio go. Once the man was gone, the tears began to spill. Lovino shifted his gaze to the daisy, and nearly raised a paw to shatter the glass dome. He didn’t, and just sighed, staring out into the night. 

He could hear Arthur, Francis and Sanne hop into the room. “Well, sire, I must say. Everything is going just swimmingly. I knew you had it in you!” The clock mused happily. Lovino couldn’t even look at them. “…I let him go.” 

“Ah, yes, yes, you let him- Wait.. WHAT?!” Arthur sputtered. “Why?” Francis asked, wide-eyed. “We were so close, how could you let him go?” Sanne demanded, clearly distressed. 

“..I… I had to.” Lovino forced out, shaking heavily. “..But…” Arthur started, and he looked at the teapot and candelabra for extra input. Sanne seemed to understand all of a sudden. “….After all this time, all these years… He’s finally learned to love.” 

“That’s it then, that should break the spell!~” Francis cheered. But the teapot shook her head. “…That’s not enough. Antonio has to love him back. That’s the only way.” 

“And… And Antonio is gone now. So… It’s too late..” Arthur sighed. The other two sighed as well. 

“…Master, if there is anything we can do to help, all you have to do is ask-“ Francis started, but a single sad look from Lovino was enough to make him go quiet. “….We’ll… leave you alone for a bit.” Sanne said, hopping away with the two other servants. 

Lovino looked back out of the window. He could see Antonio riding away on one of the horses, and his heart literally shattered at the realisation that it was really over now. He wouldn’t be human again. And even if Antonio came back, it would be too late by then. The daisy would’ve lost all its petals and he would be a beast forever. All he could do now… was wait for death to set him free. 


	8. The mob song

The house didn’t look the same. That was Antonio’s first thought once he arrived back at his house. The plants that grew on the stone walls outside were wilted and the tomato garden looked neglected and sad. Antonio got off of the brown horse, petting her gently on the nose as he tied her to a tree using the reigns. “..Thank you Katrina.” He whispered, quickly running inside. 

Immediately, he was attacked by a brown blur that began to lick his face. Antonio laughed a bit, hugging Rizada close. “Hi Rizza… Yes, I missed you too..” He said quietly, petting her fur. She had grown a bit thin. Antonio placed the dog down again, and went to look for Gabriel. 

The poor guy looked like death. Pale-faced, sweating and curled up in the blankets like a child. Antonio quickly went to grab some medication from a cabinet, warmed up some soup over the fire, and grabbed a few towels and a bowl of water. He gently cleaned the sweat of Gabriel’s forehead, before grabbing the soup and mixing some of the medication through it. 

“..To…ni…?” 

Antonio looked up, placing the bowl of soup down next to Gabriel’s bed. He smiled and cleaned more sweat off of his brother’s face. “Hey Gaby..” 

“I.. I thought I’d never see you again..” Gabriel tried to sit up, and Antonio gently helped him sit back against the pillows. 

“It’s okay.. I’m home now. Here, try to eat some soup. You look like you need it.” Antonio gently spoon-feed Gabriel the soup. Gabriel ate a bit, but then frowned. 

“But.. How did you escape from that beast..?” 

Antonio smiled sadly. “I didn’t escape Gaby. He let me go. And he has a name. He’s called Lovino. He was monstrous at first, yes, but… He changed. He became kind. I don’t think anybody ever showed him kindness.” He spoke as he fed his brother some more soup. 

Gabriel just watched him for a bit, eating the soup he was offered. The colour had returned to his face a little. “..I’m just glad you’re okay..” 

“I am glad you’re okay too. I’ll stay with you until you get better. Maybe after that we can go back there together. I can introduce you to the friends I’ve made there. I’m sure Francis and Arthur would love to meet you.” Antonio smiled. 

“…You mean the candelabra and the clock? I’ve met those two.” Gabriel chuckled. “..Scared the living hell out of me.” 

“Oh believe me, the rest of the castle shocked me too. My wardrobe was a sassy diva guy. Very nice guy though, he had humour. And Miss Jansen was.. alright too. Little stern for a teapot.” 

At the mention of the teapot, Gabriel smiled. “..She is nice, yes.” He sighed, eating another spoonful. “…But… Are you sure you want to go back? You just got here.” 

“I’m not going now, and when I go, you can come with me. I’m sure Lovino has a room for you, the castle is big enough.” 

Gabriel stared at Antonio for a bit. And then he saw it. The little fidgeting, the slight blush.. “..You really care for him, don’t you? Even after everything that he has done?” 

“Oh, believe me, I still haven’t forgiven him for what he did to you and me, but.. I just.. It’s hard to explain..” Antonio sighed, giving Gabriel more soup. “…I mean.. He’s a very good friend.. But.. I… I feel like it’s more.. Like I lo-“ 

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Antonio sighed and placed the spoon down, standing up to open the door. He was greeted by a face that made him step back a bit in slight fear. “…Hola Santigo.” 

“Hola~ I’ve come for your brother.” The dark-haired man mused darkly. Antonio blinked a few times in confusion. “..My brother? What do you want with Gabriel?” 

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll take good care of him~” Santigo chortled, stepping aside to show the carriage that he had brought standing in the middle of the mod of villagers. Antonio’s blood ran cold. 

The carriage of Villa Loca. They wanted to put Gabriel in the loony bin. Anger rose in him. “My hermano is not crazy!” He yelled at Santigo. 

“Oh yeah? We heard him raving about some monster in a castle! We all heard him, right?!” Tarkan suddenly called. Many villagers yelled affirmatives. Antonio suddenly felt cornered. These people looked like they would break into his house if they wanted. 

“..Toni..?” 

Oh, for crying out loud, why did Gabriel suddenly feel good enough to get out of bed to check on him? What God or Goddess suddenly decided “Oh, you’re better now”??! This was not helping his cause!! 

“Gabriel!~ How nice to see you!~ Tell me, how big was that beast again?” Tarzan hollered from the crowd at Gabriel, who was standing behind Antonio with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. 

The question made Gabriel pale enormously. “W-Well, he was enormous! He was at least eight…no, more like ten feet tall!” He called, shaking. Antonio tried to shush his brother, not wanting him to make matters worse, but the crowd began to laugh at what they clearly thought was a man who lost his mind. 

“Well, you don’t get crazier than that!~” Tarkan laughed. A few men from the asylum went over to the door and forcefully grabbed Gabriel, who tried to struggle. “Let me go..!!” 

“Gabriel..! No! Let him go, please!!” Antonio called, trying to grab his brother, but he was shoved to the ground by the men. Antonio shakily sat up, and suddenly was helped off the ground by someone. The ‘thank you’ died in his throat when he saw who it was. 

Sadiq let out a sigh, as if he was very bothered. “I’m very sorry about your brother, Toni. Such a shame.” He sighed. Antonio swallowed, and threw aside his pride to clutch Sadiq’s collar desperately. “Y-You know he isn’t crazy, Sadiq..!” 

Sadiq smirked a bit. “I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if…” He began with a soft purr in his voice that made Antonio shiver. In disgust, mind you. 

“..If what..?” 

“If you marry me~” 

Antonio let go of Sadiq’s collar in horror, staring up at the man in pure disgust. “…Qué..?!” Did he really just say what he thought he said?! Sadiq would stop those men from putting his brother in the asylum… if he MARRIED this egocentric asshole?! 

Sadiq smiled and wrapped an arm around Antonio’s waist, pulling him closer. “Just one word will be enough, Toni~” He coaxed, grinning sweetly. 

Antonio tried to push him away. “Never!” He yelled. Sadiq clearly didn’t like that, and suddenly smashed his lips against Antonio’s, as if it could convince him to say something else. 

For a moment, Antonio was frozen. And then he pulled himself away and punched Sadiq right in the nose, making the man fall to the ground, clutching his bleeding nose. Sadiq looked up, holding a hand to his nose. There was absolute anger in those eyes. 

“So be it. Guys! Take him away!” 

Gabriel was dragged to the carriage, shrieking and protesting. Antonio felt dread spread through him. What could he do to convince the villagers that Gabriel wasn’t crazy, that there really was a beast..?! 

_ This mirror will show you anything. Anything you wish to see. _

That was it! Antonio quickly ran inside, grabbing the mirror from his bag, and then ran back outside. “I can prove Gabriel isn’t crazy!” He called, making everyone look at him. Antonio looked into the mirror. “Show me Lovino!” 

The mirror began to glow brightly, and Antonio showed the image of Lovino that appeared to everyone. Villagers began to scream in fright at seeing the beast, who was roaring to the sky. To the people, it looked like he was roaring out of anger. While in fact, he was roaring out of despair. 

“Is it dangerous?!” A woman called, holding her children close. Antonio quickly shook his head and ran over to the crowd, showing everyone the image. 

“No, no, he’d never hurt anyone! I-I know he looks frightful, but he’s very gentle and kind! He’s… He’s my friend!” For some reason, Antonio felt like ‘friend’ didn’t cut it, but he was interrupted by Sadiq grabbing his shoulder. 

“If I didn’t know any better… I’d say you had feelings for that monster!” 

Antonio stared up at Sadiq, fury rising in him. He wanted to punch him again, but he held himself back. “..He’s not the monster Sadiq.. YOU ARE!” Antonio fumed, clutching the mirror close as if to hug the person it was showing. 

Narrowing his eyes in anger, Sadiq yanked the mirror out of Antonio’s hands and looked at the villagers. “He’s as crazy as his brother! He says this creature is his friend, but I’ve hunted wild beasts before and I’ve seen what they can do! The Beast will make off with your children!” He yelled, riling the villagers up. 

“No!” Antonio called, trying to grab the mirror again, but Sadiq held the mirror out of reach and continued to rile the crowd up. “He’ll come after them in the night!” 

“He’d never do that!” 

“Forget the nutjob, I say… WE KILL THE BEAST!!” 

The crowd cheered, clearly on board with Sadiq’s plan. Antonio felt fear rising in him, and he tried to grab the mirror again. “I WON’T LET YOU DO THIS!” He cried out, until he was grabbed by the other villagers. 

Sadiq smirked at him. “Try and stop us~ Lock those two up! Can’t have them warning the monster!” He called. Antonio and Gabriel were dragged to Gabriel’s shed and locked inside. The villagers ignored the loud yelling and pounding on the door from Antonio. 

The whole crowd began collecting their torches and weapons, keen on going to the Beast’s castle and murdering him in cold blood. Sadiq sat on his horse in the front of the crowd, leading them into the forest with the help of the mirror. He smirked. Time for another hunt~ 

* * *

“I knew it, I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up.” Arthur sighed as he and the other servants sat by the fire. 

“…Perhaps he should’ve never come in the first place.” Sanne huffed, to which Francis gasped lightly. “Now, now Ms. Jansen, that might be a bit overboard.” He chided. 

They suddenly heard something outside, making them hop over to the window with new-found hope. “Could it be? Is it him?” Francis asked hopefully, hopping up to the windowsill. But when he saw who or rather what was coming to the castle, the candelabra sort of paled. 

“Sacre bleu! Invaders!” 

“Encroachers!” Arthur added, clearly in shock. Sanne suddenly noticed what the guy in front was holding. “Mijn god, and they have the mirror!” 

“Warn the master. If it's a fight they want, we'll be ready for them.” Arthur said, hopping down from the windowsill. Sanne nodded and hopped down, rushing to the West wing. 

Getting there, she found Lovino curled up in a chair, staring out the window. He looked.. well.. rather pathetic. Sanne cleared her throat. “Uhm.. Master Lovino?” 

“Leave me in peace..” 

“But, sir, the castle is under attack!” 

Lovino just sighed at that. “…It doesn’t matter anymore… Just.. let them come.. I don’t care..” 

Sanne rolled her eyes and hopped down the stairs back to the rest of the servants. "Everyone! Place yourselves in places where an item like yourself would be. We're going to ambush these bastards who would dare to attack our home!" 

* * *

Antonio slammed against the door of the shed again and again, trying to break down the door. Gabriel eventually just gently held his brother back.

"You are going to hurt yourself."

"But I need to warn him! I can't let them..!!"

"Toni, we build that door to withstand my tinkering. You can't break it open with your shoulder."

Antonio shook and shivered, tears running down his face. "I.. I never should've left. This is all my fault."

"It's not. You came to help me. You couldn't have known that asshole would go and rile up a mob." Gabriel held him close.

Antonio sniffled a bit. "...I don't want Lovino to be hurt. He's my best friend."

Gabriel kind of chuckled. "Just your best friend? From how you were yelling I thought you felt more."

"Well.. I.."

A loud crash suddenly made them look up. Another. And then another. Suddenly, the door was quite literally kicked in by a pair of hooves. Rizada barked proudly as she stood there, Katrina's reigns in her mouth.

"Good girl!" Antonio cheered, rushing outside to pet her and get on the horse's back. He was only stopped by Gabriel grabbing his arm.

"I am coming with you."

"Gaby, no, you're sick, I-"

"No arguments. I'm not losing you again."

Antonio sighed, giving in and letting Gabriel get on the horse with him. He dug his heels in Katrina's flanks.

"Bring us to Lovino!"


	9. The battle / Home reprise

“Sadiq, this place gives me the creeps.” 

“Shut up, Tarkan.” 

The mob had made their way into the castle, looking around. It was quiet, very quiet. Furniture stood in the entrance hall, most of them covered with sheets. It seemed abandoned, but the candles were lit, signalling someone was home. 

Tarkan swallowed thickly once again. “Sadiq, I wanna go home….” He nearly whined, shaking. This place didn’t feel right, like people were watching them invade their home. 

“Tarkan, just be quiet,” Toris mumbled as he reached for one of the lit candelabras to light the way. Suddenly, Tarkan felt a chill run down his spine. Something was about to happen. 

And something did. All of a sudden, the candelabra that Toris was holding opened two eyes, moved the two candle arms, and opened a mouth. 

“NOW!” 

As if by magic, all the objects in the room suddenly sprung to life and began to attack the villagers. Pots and pans flew around, banging people on the head, feather dusters threw dust in people’s eyes. Cutlery was stabbing and smacking people in the butt, along with candlesticks lighting the sore area on fire. 

One of the featherdusters was being chased by a villager, but suddenly turned around to sort of smirk at him. “Say, you’re cute~” 

The villager blushed brightly, sputtering a bit at how sultry the featherduster was being, which was now beginning to twirl over to him, as if to kiss his cheek. It didn’t get very far, seeing the candelabra from before swooped in and lit the man’s hind quarters on fire. The man screamed in pain and ran. 

All and all, the whole entrance hall was chaos. Tarkan was being chased by a pendulum clock carrying a sword, the clock yelling something like “Tally ho!” 

He noticed Sadiq running up the stairs, so he ran after him to follow, but suddenly the carpet grabbed him. He was tossed around like a ragdoll, and spit out just outside of the entrance hall. Tarkan stumbled into the hallway, dazed, but glad that he lost the stupid clock. 

“You look like you could use a nice cup of tea~” 

Startled, Tarzan looked to see a cart with a teapot on it, along with two cups, a small can of milk, and a sugar pot. Tarkan swallowed, walking over. Tea sounded nice, and the teapot seemed friendly. 

“Tea..? T-That’s would be nice, thank you.” 

He was just about to reach for one of the cups, until they suddenly both snapped to attention, showing mischievous green and light-blue eyes. “HERE YOU GO!” They yelled in unison, before both spat hot tea in Tarkan’s face. 

Tarkan screamed in pain, clutching his face. The teapot smirked. “Take that, klootzak!” She growled, hopping over to smack Tarkan across the face with her spout, making him fall to the ground. 

Once he was laying there, the cart drove over his back out of the hallway. It took a bit, but eventually Tarkan sat up, still in pain. He looked around. 

“…Where did everybody go?” He whimpered as he stood. Suddenly, Tarkan heard something stomping up behind him, and he hesitantly turned, only to come face to face with a big pink wardrobe. 

The wardrobe seemed to grin. His doors suddenly opened, and Tarkan was pulled inside, thrown around and twisted. When he was finally released, he was tossed on the floor, dressed in a big poufy pink dress, his face plastered with make-up. 

He couldn’t help it, he screamed in absolute horror and ran. He needed to get out of this castle. But before he could even make it to the front door, he heard a loud cry. 

“THERE YOU ARE, YOU WANKER!” 

Well, fuck. 

* * *

Lovino could hear the commotion downstairs, and he sighed softly. Antonio probably told someone about him, and now his whole village came to kill him. He wondered if Antonio was among them. Would he come up here to save him, take him away? Or would he put Lovino out of his misery? 

He could hear footsteps coming towards the room. It wasn’t Antonio. His steps were… bouncy, happy, almost carefree. These steps were heavy, loud and confident. Maybe it was that Sadiq guy Antonio had told him about once. The hunter, the hunk who practically forced himself upon Antonio. 

Once the door opened, Lovino didn’t even have to look back to know it was Sadiq. He could practically hear the guy smirking at the sight of his big prize, the beast he would kill. 

“You’re even uglier in the flesh!” 

Sadiq stalked over and shoved Lovino out of the chair, kicking him in the stomach. When Lovino merely groaned in pain, Sadiq growled. “…Get up. GET UP!” He kicked him again and again, shoving Lovino towards the balcony. 

“What’s the matter _ Beast _?? Too kind and gentle to fight back..?! Do you really think someone like Antonio would love a monster like you?! Don’t make me laugh! Monsters like you don’t deserve love!” 

Again, he got no reaction from the Beast, aside from a pitiful whine. Sadiq tsk-ed, and grabbed a heavy looking table leg from the room. He held it up, getting ready to bash the monster’s brains in, when suddenly… 

“NO!!!” 

Sadiq was tackled to the ground by someone, the table leg falling to the ground. He struggled against his attacker, soon pinning whoever dared to come between him and his kill to the ground. Sadiq got ready to punch the assaulter, but froze. 

“…Antonio?” 

Lovino perked up a bit at the name. “..Toni..?” He whispered in disbelief, seeing the man he had hoped to return for him pinned under Sadiq. Rage suddenly rose in him. His energy returned, and Lovino jumped up to pull Sadiq off of Antonio, holding him easily over the railing of the balcony. 

Sadiq seemed to notice Lovino could easily drop him. “P-Please, don’t let me fall, I’ll do anything, please don’t hurt me!!” He begged, pleading for his life. 

Lovino growled angrily, almost dropping him, but he froze when he heard Antonio stand. “…Don’t hurt him. You’re not a monster,” Antonio whispered. “..Put him down, please.” 

Lovino blinked, his gaze softening a bit. He pulled Sadiq back. “..GET OUT.” He growled, tossing Sadiq down. Lovino turned, his expression turning from anger to relief. “Antonio..” 

Antonio merely smiled, tears streaming down. He extended his arms towards Lovino. “..Lovino. It’s okay, come here…” 

Lovino began to walk over, but suddenly felt a sharp agonizing pain in his side. Sadiq had stood up, and had stabbed him when he hadn’t been paying attention. Lovino let out a roar, and elbowed Sadiq, making him stumble back a bit too far. Sadiq lost his balance, and toppled over the railing, falling to his death with a loud scream. 

Antonio’s eyes widened, and he rushed forward to catch Lovino when he fell over. “Lovino! Oh, dios mío.. H-Hold on, you’ll be okay..” He frantically said as he lowered Lovino to the ground carefully, laying Lovino’s head on his lap and holding the wound closed. 

Lovino just kinda stared up at Antonio. Even though the other was crying, even though he looked like a mess, to Lovino, he was beautiful. “…You… came back..” 

“O-Of course I came back! I-I couldn’t let them…” Antonio said, sobbing a bit. “…T-This is all my fault! I-I should’ve been faster, I-I should’ve been stronger, I should’ve… I-I should’ve.. Don’t worry, I’ll get help..!” He looked up, calling for his brother. Gabriel could maybe fix this. 

Lovino gently placed his paw against Antonio’s cheek, shushing him a bit. “…Don’t cry… It’s okay… Maybe it’s better this way..” He croaked. 

“D-Don’t talk like that! W-We’re together now, you’ll be fine…” Antonio whispered, clutching Lovino’s paw. “Y-You can’t go. Not now… I can’t lose you too, you’re.. Please stay awake for me, please…” 

Lovino managed to smile, stroking Antonio’s tears away. “…At least.. I got to see you… one last time.” He whispered quietly, feeling himself suddenly grow so very tired. Maybe he should close his eyes? A few moments wouldn’t hurt… Right…? 

Antonio felt the tears rolling quicker down his face. “No, please..! Keep your eyes open, don’t fall asleep..!! Lovino, don’t you dare leave me..!! Don’t go..!!” He sobbed. 

But he knew it was a losing battle. Antonio slowly felt Lovino go limp, saw the life leave his eyes. Antonio let out a loud cry, sobbing violently and clutching Lovino’s body, hugging him for dear life. 

“No, please!! Lovino!! Come back, come back, please…!! You can’t leave me..!!” He cried, rocking back and forth, hoping to somehow bring Lovino back with words. “Please, Lovino…!! Y-You can’t… Please, Lovino…” 

“Antonio..” 

Antonio looked up to see Gabriel standing there, and he began to cry louder, hiding his face in Lovino’s chest fur. 

“Antonio..” He could feel Gabriel taking his shoulders, trying to pull the younger away from the corpse, but Antonio wouldn’t budge. 

“No…!!” Antonio cried, clutching Lovino closer. “I can’t leave him, I came back for him, I can’t abandon him!!” 

“Antonio, please, let go… There’s nothing you can do-“ 

“YOU ALWAYS TAUGHT ME TO NEVER LET GO OF WHAT YOU LOVE!” Antonio suddenly yelled at Gabriel, his voice broken from all the sobbing. “SO I’M NEVER LETTING GO OF HIM!” 

He turned to cry into Lovino’s fur again, hardly noticing that Gabriel still held him by the shoulders. Antonio quietly whimpered, desperately stroking the soft fur. 

“…Te amo…” 

The words were soft, maybe even a bit muffled, but Antonio meant them. He would’ve repeated them to Lovino a hundred thousand times, if a sudden sound hadn’t reached his ear. 

A heartbeat. 

Antonio shot up, disbelief in his eyes. He quickly placed his ear on Lovino’s chest, waiting. There it was again. Faint, but growing stronger and faster. Lovino’s skin began to feel warmer, and warmer. He grew… Hot. 

Antonio quickly backed away, noticing Lovino began to glow brightly. He grew brighter, and brighter. Both Antonio and Gabriel backed away, shielding their eyes from the blinding light. 

After a few moments, Antonio slowly lowered his arms, blinking the spots in his vision away. His eyes widened at what he saw. 

There, laying on the ground, was a young man, around Antonio’s age. He had olive-tinted skin, middle-long brown hair in a ponytail, and a strange stubborn curl. The man groaned quietly, sitting up and clutching onto the big cloak to cover his body. He opened his hazel eyes to look at Antonio. 

For a while, the two just stared at each other in sort of shock. The man slowly rose to his feet, stumbling a bit and still clutching onto the oversized clothing to stay decent. A hopeful smile spread across his face, and he reached out a hand towards Antonio. 

“A-Antonio..” 

But Antonio stepped away, confused and sort of scared. Who was this man..? Where was Lovino? What was with the light show? He had so many questions. 

The man dropped his hand, a hurt expression forming on his face, before it turned into a grumpy frown. 

“..What? Just because I went through molting, you don’t recognize me anymore, bastardo?” 

Antonio’s eyes widened in realization, and he practically leaped at Lovino, hugging him and falling to the ground with him. He was blabbering in muffled Spanish, crying once again. 

Lovino just hugged him back, crying himself, but smiling brightly at the same time. He soon pulled back a bit to wipe Antonio’s tears away, smiling at him. “….Don’t cry, amore… Ti amo.” 

“Te amo..” Antonio replied, chuckling through his tears. He lurched forward, pressing his lips against Lovino’s. 

As soon as they kissed, it was like fireworks went off. Lights shot up around the two kissing men, changing everything around them. The worn down stone seemed to melt back to the beautiful marble it was back in the day. The plants began to bloom, and the heavy rain clouds disappeared. 

Antonio and Lovino pulled away from the kiss to look around in awe at the changes. They watched as the lights flew in and around the castle, changing everything their light fell upon. Lovino perked up in realization. 

“Come on, we need to find them!” 

“Who?” Antonio asked as Lovino pulled him to his feet and began to pull him back into the castle. Lovino merely flashed him a grin, one with normal human teeth. 

“I’m going to introduce you to my servants~” 


	10. Beauty and the Beast reprise

It was after the last villager had been chased out that Sanne finally felt like she could breathe. The teapot was panting a bit as she hopped through the hallway, exhausted. 

But then, something happened. She saw lights flying down from the West Wing, splitting up, and flying into all the directions. 

A light hit her, and Sanne felt her whole body sort of.. twist into something. She fell over, twitching lightly. 

“Ow..” 

Sanne opened her eyes again, suddenly seeing something she hadn’t seen in years. 

Hands. 

Eyes wide in disbelief, Sanne flexed and unflexed her fingers, a smile growing on her face. She got up, noticing she had legs again and went over to the mirror hanging on the wall. 

Seeing a young, tall blonde woman staring back at her, Sanne knew what had happened. She touched her own face, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Sanne!” 

She looked at where the sound came from, and her eyes lit up. 

“Francis!!” 

The two hugged each other, smiling. Francis had turned back into the dashing man he had been before the curse, his blonde hair in a ponytail. 

“Ah, ma ami, look at us~ Look at you~ You are tall and beautiful again~” 

Sanne chuckled. “Oh, shush. You’re not too bad-looking yourself~” 

The two shared a happy laugh, too giddy and excited to properly jest each other. 

“What the bloody hell is going on over here??” 

The two looked up to see a man with choppy blonde hair and huge eyebrows walking over to them. Francis’s eyes widened and he ran at the man to hug him. 

“Arthur!~” 

“Agh-! Stop it you git!!” Arthur flailed. He suddenly seemed to realize. “Hold on… We’re human again!!” He began hugging Francis back tightly as well. 

The three servants laughed happily together, until they suddenly saw someone they hadn’t seen in a long time run up to them. Lovino hugged Sanne, laughing with glee. 

“Miss Jansen! Francis! Arthur!” He laughed as he hugged all three of them. The prince then grabbed Antonio’s hand, pulling him along again to meet the other servants. 

“…Was that…?” Arthur started. The two others smiled and nodded. “It was~” Francis mused. 

“Francis!~ Mon chér~” 

Francis looked over to see a young woman with blonde curls nearly dancing over to him. “Jeanne!~ Oh, ma chérie!~” He hugged her and kissed her cheeks, neck and all the way down her arm to her now featherless hand. 

“Ma amour, you look beautiful~” 

Jeanne pretended to be offended. “What do you mean? I thought you found me beautiful before.” 

“Ah… Oui, but… I like you better this way.” Francis said, stuttering a bit. Jeanne grinned and pecked his cheek. “I like you better this way too~” She purred, pulling Francis along to another part of the castle, grinning all the way. 

“Those two will probably be snogging all day.” Arthur chuckled at Sanne, who nodded with a smile. 

“Yo, Iggy!!” 

Arthur was suddenly tackled by a hyper blonde with glasses. “I got hands again!~” 

“That you do, now get off of me, you git! Yer crushing me!” Arthur protested, flailing. Alfred chuckled and got up, hugging Arthur nearly to death. “I’m sooooo glad I can properly hug ya again! I missed youuuuu~” 

“….Missed you too,” Arthur said, slightly muffled into Alfred’s chest. Alfred laughed and dragged Arthur along, clearly wanting to catch up with him again. 

And that left Sanne all alone. She stood there, chuckling a bit at her friend’s antics, and then sighed. She had nobody to call a lover or something like that. 

“Sanne!~ Sanne!~” 

But she had those rascals. Sanne smiled brightly and caught the young boy and girl into her arms, scooping them up in a big hug. 

“Nicolaas, Ida! Oh, I’m so happy to see you two!~” 

“We’re happy to see you too!~” Nicolaas chirped. Ida grinned up at her big sister. “We saw Antonio and Lovino! Are they gonna live happily ever after now? Just like in the fairytale books??” 

Sanne chuckled. “Yes, of course lieverd, of course.” She mused, hugging her sister closer. Nicolaas innocently looked at Sanne. “San? Do we still have to sleep in the cupboard now?” 

She got ready to answer, but was cut off by a hand on her shoulder. Sanne turned around to see Gabriel standing there. 

“Uhm, excuse me, but I-“ He fell silent at seeing her face. “…..Have we met?” 

Sanne merely smiled and placed her siblings down, who giggled impishly as they hid behind her legs. “Ja, we have. It’s just been a while. It’s good to see you again, Gabriel.” 

Gabriel blinked and looked her over. “Sanne…?….You’re… You’re tall.” 

“Is that a problem?~” Sanne teased. 

“No, no, I.. Uhm… I don’t mind.. taller women. I-I mean-!” Gabriel sputtered, until Sanne merely chuckled. 

“It’s alright. You must be looking for Antonio, right?” 

Gabriel gave a sheepish nod, smiling a bit. Sanne smiled back and took his hand. “C’mon then. I saw them not too long ago.” And she began to pull him along to find Antonio. 

* * *

Back in the West Wing, the statues of the man, child, and toddler all began to crack a little. The cracking got louder, and slowly the statues began to move. Breaking out of their stone prison. 

Soon enough, the stone shattered to the ground, revealing an older man, a young-adult, and a preteen standing there, all very confused as to what just happened. The preteen gave a small sneeze at the dusty room and stared at the man and young-adult. 

The three of them began to smile. “He did it,” the man mused. “He found true love.” 

“Veh~ I knew Fratello could do it!~” The young-adult cheered. 

“We need to find him! I wanna meet my new Fratello!” The preteen chirped, beginning to run towards the door. The man and young-adult grinned and ran after the preteen, in search of the prince. 

* * *

“Alright, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. But you, and your entire castle, were cursed because you wouldn’t let a stranger in when you were a teen?” Antonio asked. Getting a nod, he threw his arms in the air in frustration. “That’s complete bullshit. You were being responsible.” 

Lovino sighed. “But she was right about not giving a damn about other’s wellbeing.” He noted quietly, looking down at his feet. 

A hand on his shoulder made him look up, meeting Antonio’s emerald green eyes. “….That’s not true Lovino,” Antonio reassured him. 

“You listened to me when I pleaded to trade places with Gabriel. You saved me from the wolves. You gave me a library, knowing how much I love books. You let me go to save my brother. You.. You spared Sadiq, even though you knew how he had hurt me. If you hadn’t given a damn about anybody’s wellbeing… Gabriel would’ve died from hypothermia and I would’ve been wolf chow.” 

Lovino blinked and smiled lightly. Antonio was right. He hugged him close. “Thank you..” He whispered. “You’re welcome.” Antonio smiled, hugging back. 

“Antonio!” 

They looked up to see Gabriel and Sanne walking over to them. Gabriel was out of breath. “How big is this castle? I’ve been looking for forever.” 

Antonio just chuckled. “Yeah, it’s big, huh?~ I still think so~ Wait till you see the ballroom!~” He said cheerily. 

“Uhm, your highness. There’s some people that would like to speak with you,” Sanne said to Lovino, who blinked in confusion. “..Who..?” 

“I think you should see for yourself. They’re in the sitting room.” 

Lovino’s eyes widened. Could it be…? He had to check it out. Lovino gave a nod of thanks to Sanne, and grabbed Antonio’s hand to pull him along to the sitting room. 

Once there, Lovino froze up at the sight of the people before him. He almost couldn’t believe it. Tears welling up in his eyes, Lovino ran over to his grandfather, nearly launching himself into his arms. 

“Nonno! I-I’m so sorry!” He cried in Romulus’s chest, clutching onto his grandfather. “This was all my fault, I’m so sorry!!” 

“No, no.. Don’t be.. Ah, cucciolo.. It’s okay…” Romulus gently rocked his eldest grandson, stroking his hair. “…You fixed it, and you regret making a mistake, so it’s okay..” 

Lovino just continued to cry, smiling at his younger brothers and hugging them both. “Feliciano.. Marcello… Oh, I’ve missed you two..” 

“Are you crying?~” Marcello giggled, even though he was as well. 

“N-No. Something got in my eye, shut up.” 

“Veh~ Don’t be ashamed fratello~” 

“Y-You shut up too, Feli.” 

Antonio watched from the dooropening, smiling at the cute reunion. He felt a little like he was interrupting. Like an intruder. He wanted to step back a bit to give Lovino some space. 

But Romulus wouldn’t let him. He went up to him and patted him on the shoulder, perhaps a bit too hard, seeing Antonio cringed. “So this must be the young man my grandson has fallen in love with. What’s your name?~” 

“I-I… I’m Antonio..” He sputtered, before quickly bowing. “Y-Your majesty.” 

“Ah, no need for all those titles right now. You, my boy, just saved us all from this horrible curse. I should be bowing to you!” 

Antonio blushed softly, all the way up to his ears, at the compliment. “A-Ah.. I.. I didn’t know about a curse.. S-So.. I.. Uhm..” 

“Nonsense!~ Whether or not you knew, you saved us all. You’ll be rewarded for this, my boy~ How does having the crown prince’s hand in marriage sound?~” 

Both Lovino and Antonio blushed even brighter and looked at each other. Marriage was a big step. They had only recently proclaimed their love for each other. But… They could see it in each other’s eyes. 

Antonio looked at the king, and smiled. “That.. That would be the biggest reward you could give me, your majesty.” 

“What did I say about the titles?~ You will be part of the family now!~ Call me Nonno.” Romulus grinned, wrapping an arm around Antonio in a half hug. 

“O-Okay.. N-Nonno,” Antonio sputtered, still blushing. He looked at Lovino, and a smile tugged at his lips. Part of the family… That sounded nice. 

* * *

~A few months later~ 

“Feliks, I can’t breathe,” Antonio wheezed, trying to tug the strings a bit looser. He knew he had agreed on wearing something more.. feminine so people knew he was the bride in this scenario, but a corset was a bit overboard. At least the dress was made of beautiful, and comfortable, fabric. 

“Just bite through it a bit, darling~ If women back then could wear it, then you totally can too!~” 

“…Didn’t most of them die during childbirth because their organs were crushed together by these things?” 

“That’s beside the point!~ You won’t be wearing one, like, every day. Only on your special day!~” Feliks tugged the strings back in place again and smiled at the soon to be bride. 

“…It won’t be very special if he faints.” Gabriel noted as he stepped in. He looked his younger brother over and smiled lightly. “…You look.. very beautiful.” 

“Gracias Gaby.. But this corset will be the death of me. Feliks, please. Just a little bit looser. Just so I can breathe.” Antonio whined. 

“Fine, fine.” He loosened it a bit. “There. Now for some final details!~” Feliks began doing Antonio’s hair, trying to tame it. 

Gabriel chuckled a bit and stepped over to his brother, handing him a small box. “Here. An early wedding present.” 

Antonio smiled and opened the box. His eyes grew wide at the contents. “Gaby…” He lifted the gift out, very carefully. 

It was a crown. Not too big, and it was made of thin silver, decorated with a beautiful emerald and two amber stones next to it. 

“I thought, seeing you’re marrying the crown prince, you’ll be king alongside with Lovino one day. Your actual crown will be a bit bigger of course, and probably made by a better craftsman than me, but for now.. This’ll do, I think. What do you think?” Gabriel smiled. 

Antonio hugged his brother tightly, fighting back tears. “It’s beautiful… Thank you Gaby..” He whispered, before pulling back and turning to the mirror. Carefully, he placed the crown on his head. Both he and Gabriel had to fight back a few tears. 

“Ah, you are, like, ruining my masterpiece, Toni!” Feliks cried out, quickly going over to fix the little bit of makeup that he had put on Antonio’s face, wiping away the tears. He was crying a bit as well, so he wasn’t one to talk. 

Antonio chuckled a bit and let Feliks do his work. “Sorry Feliks. It’s just.. an emotional day,” He mused, watching as Feliks fixed the wedding veil under the crown. 

“But, like of course, darling, you are getting married!~ You can let all the emotions go, just don’t ruin my masterpiece.” The three of them couldn’t help but laugh a bit. 

It was soon time. Antonio clutched his bouquet, feeling a bit nervous. Gabriel was next to him, his arm hooked with Antonio’s. 

“….Nervous?” Gabriel whispered as they waited behind the doors for the bridal march. 

“You bet..” 

“..You gonna be okay?” 

“Of course, just..” 

“Just what?” 

Antonio looked up at his brother. “…I’m happy you’re with me here..” 

Gabriel smiled at him and kissed the side of Antonio’s head. “I’m happy too. You ready..?” 

Antonio swallowed and nodded, putting on a smile. “Ready.” 

“Then let’s get you married~” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not over yet! The next chapter is the wedding! Hopefully, I can finish it soon ;w;


	11. And they lived happily ever after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the people who have been following my story until now, thank you. I’m glad to finally finish my project. I loved seeing all these reviews, some made me laugh or giddy to continue. You guys are awesome, so stay awesome ^^

Once the doors opened, Antonio’s heart fluttered. It was finally happening. All the fittings and taste testings of cakes had been worth this. The whole room was filled with guests; most of them being servants of the castle, or nobility from other countries. He could hear some people whispering about his dress, and most of them were surprisingly positive. 

But he could only focus on one thing. Lovino. Standing there in a beautiful suit. His hair had been put up into a little bun, and Antonio had to stop himself from biting his lip. Lovino looked so handsome. 

They soon reached the altar. Gabriel handed Antonio’s hand over to Lovino, and Antonio lightly clutched his almost-husband’s hand. Lovino did the same, smiling at his ‘bride’. 

The priest began to speak, and Antonio tried to listen, really, but he couldn’t stop looking at Lovino. He loved this man, loved him so much, and he knew Lovino felt the same. 

He almost didn’t catch the priest’s question if he’d be with Lovino in sickness and in health, the whole vows thing he had to agree too. Antonio smiled, nodding at Lovino. 

“I do.” 

Lovino smiled, watching Antonio’s face, how positively glowing he looked. He was going to marry this man, the man who truly loved him. 

“I do.” 

They barely waited for the cue to kiss, hugging each other close as they did. Applause erupted throughout the room. Antonio was the first to break away, chuckling lightly at seeing Lovino still with his eyes closed and lips slightly open. He cupped his husband's cheek, their eyes meeting as they both smiled in relief and love. 

The rest of the wedding was a bit of a blur to Antonio, the only clear things being Lovino's eyes, Lovino's smile, his embrace. They had danced, cut cake, mingled with guests. Lovino introduced him to many nobles, and Antonio soon lost count on how many hands he shook. How many congratulations he got. The amount of compliments surprised him too. 

When it was time, Lovino hooked his arm with Antonio, leading them to the carriage that would bring them to the summer palace by the sea for their honeymoon. Antonio waved everyone goodbye, gave Gabriel one last big hug, and only in the carriage he sagged into his seat. 

"I'm exhausted." He sighed, his head on Lovino's shoulder. Lovino chuckled, gently taking their crowns off and placing them in a little box under the seats for safekeeping. He pulled Antonio to his chest, getting them both comfortable. 

"As am I, amore. As am I. You can rest." 

Antonio yawned a bit, nuzzling his face into his husband's chest. "..Wake me up when we're almost there..?" He mumbled sleepishly. 

"Of course." 

"...stay with me..?" He yawned again, already feeling himself drifting off. He heard Lovino chuckle and felt him kiss his head just before sleep took him. 

Lovino gazed down at his sleeping husband, stroking his hair, feeling warm and full of love and affection. 

"Forevermore, my love." 

* * *

"And that's the end." Sanne closed the book with a gentle thump, looking up at the children. Amadeo and Lucile were still awestruck, while Merel began grinning widely. 

"Did that really all happen, mama?" 

"Of course it did, lieverd. I never lie to you, now do I?" She chuckled. 

"Wow.. Dad was really cool!" Amadeo grinned. His little sister nodded in agreement. Merel hmpf-ed a bit. "My papa was cool too." 

"Your papa wasn't a cool big monster." Amadeo teased, blowing a raspberry. 

"Yeah, but he was rather mean to my papa! He locked him in a dungeon!" Merel pouted at her cousin. 

"And luckily he stopped being mean after I gave him a stern talking to." Antonio mused, walking into the room. Amadeo and Lucile lit up with glee, jumping into their Papa's arms. 

"Papa, is it true you fought wolves?" Lucile asked, hazel eyes bright and curious. "And did you really nearly beat that bad man?" Amadeo piped in, grinning. 

Antonio chuckled, looking at his sister-in-law. "Now what have you been telling my children?~" 

"Oh, nothing too bad, your majesty~" Sanne mused innocently as she put the book away and straightened out her dress. "Just a lot about you being a giant sap~" 

"Ah, well, can't deny that~" Antonio chuckled, blowing a raspberry into his children' necks, making them squeal. "Now, as much as I don't mind your aunt telling you all kinds of stories, I do think it's time for bed." 

"Aww, but papa, we're not tired!" Amadeo protested, which was in vain, as Lucile gave a yawn and placed her head on her father's shoulder. Antonio chuckled. "Your sister seems to think otherwise." 

The boy pouted a bit, staring at his sister. "Traitor." He mumbled, cuddling into his father's arms. Antonio just smiled, looking back at Sanne. "I'll get these two to bed. Goodnight, Sanne." 

"Goodnight, Antonio." 

Antonio carried his children up the stairs to the West Wing, smiling lightly when he noticed they had both fallen asleep. He walked to their bedroom, tucking them into their beds and gently kissing their foreheads. A little creak of the door made him look back to see Lovino quietly walking in as well. 

"Already asleep, huh?" Lovino whispered, hugging his husband from behind as they looked at the sleeping faces of the young prince and princess. Antonio leaned into his embrace a bit, giving a little nod. "Like little angels." He whispered back. 

"Maybe we should get to bed too, amore." 

"Lovi, it's not even 8 yet." Antonio chuckled softly, but smiled when he noticed the glint in his husband's eyes, and felt the hand creeping down his stomach. "..I see. Let's." He mused, kissing him briefly. "C'mon, my lovely beast." 

"With pleasure, my beauty." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not plan for that ending, but stream of conciousness writing can be so fun xD
> 
> Lucile and Amadeo are the children from my RPs with @tomatoesforlyfe on dA. Merel is my original NethPort kid who might return in future fics :3
> 
> IT'S FINALLY DONE OMG ;7;  
Thank you for everyone who's been with me on this journey!


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